Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 1,225,698 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 248% from the previous session’s volume of 352,360 shares.The stock last traded at $117.50 and had previously closed at $118.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CWST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen started coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Casella Waste Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.67.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $111.08 and its 200-day moving average is $108.02. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of 514.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.96.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.25. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.87% and a return on equity of 4.15%. As a group, research analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In other news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.67, for a total transaction of $237,340.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,414,578.49. The trade was a 8.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWST. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1,606.7% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 124.4% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 276 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Casella Waste Systems during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 156.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

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.