Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Jefferies Financial Group

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) was downgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $113.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $115.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 7.59% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on CWST. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.80.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of CWST opened at $105.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 2.48. Casella Waste Systems has a 1-year low of $84.45 and a 1-year high of $114.88. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 875.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.30.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 3.04% and a net margin of 0.46%. The company had revenue of $411.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.59 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems will post 0.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.81, for a total value of $184,781.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,088.85. This trade represents a 7.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CWST. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 108.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 66,129 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,579,000 after purchasing an additional 34,340 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 87.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 78,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,815,000 after buying an additional 36,573 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 8.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,430,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $142,393,000 after buying an additional 109,288 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 667.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 48,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,785,000 after buying an additional 41,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 3.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 861,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $85,476,000 after acquiring an additional 26,189 shares during the period. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Casella Waste Systems

Casella Waste Systems, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a vertically integrated solid waste services company in the United States. It offers resource management services primarily in the areas of solid waste collection and disposal, transfer, recycling, and organics services to residential, commercial, municipal, institutional, and industrial customers.