Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $105.80.

Several research firms have commented on CWST. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $91.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group downgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $122.00 to $95.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $106.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, October 9th.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Up 5.9%

Shares of CWST opened at $98.53 on Thursday. Casella Waste Systems has a 1 year low of $74.05 and a 1 year high of $107.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -547.36 and a beta of 0.71.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.06). Casella Waste Systems had a positive return on equity of 5.04% and a negative net margin of 0.56%. The company had revenue of $559.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $563.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. Casella Waste Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael K. Burke sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.26, for a total transaction of $104,786.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,299,441.66. This trade represents a 7.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas R. Casella sold 1,343 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.12, for a total value of $122,374.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 90,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,213,647.92. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,738 shares of company stock worth $348,700. Insiders own 3.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Casella Waste Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 36.8% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,531,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $342,459,000 after purchasing an additional 949,374 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,292,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $125,295,000 after buying an additional 80,299 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Casella Waste Systems by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,109,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,145,000 after buying an additional 369,806 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Casella Waste Systems by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,067,132 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,663,000 after buying an additional 31,471 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 721,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,863,000 after acquiring an additional 22,270 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems News Summary

Investors following CWST have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue grew 15.2% year over year to $559.2 million, despite falling short of analysts’ estimates. Casella earnings and revenue results
• Neutral Sentiment: Deutsche Bank raised its target to $100 from $95 but maintained a “hold” rating. BofA Securities also lifted its target, to $94 from $91; that remains below the recently cited share price. Deutsche Bank price target update BofA Securities price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Casella’s FY 2026 revenue guidance of about $2.1 billion was in line with consensus, offering no clear forecast surprise. FY 2026 guidance update

Casella Waste Systems Company Profile

Casella Waste Systems is a regional solid waste services company that provides collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource management services. Its customers include residential, commercial, municipal and industrial clients. The company operates primarily in the northeastern United States, with services across states including Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Its operations also include recycling and organics services designed to recover materials and manage waste.