Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Price Target Cut to $91.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) had its price objective dropped by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $105.00 to $91.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.27% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on CWST. Zacks Research upgraded Casella Waste Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Casella Waste Systems from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.50.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of CWST traded up $0.33 on Thursday, hitting $84.05. 638,696 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 704,806. Casella Waste Systems has a 1 year low of $74.05 and a 1 year high of $107.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $89.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 933.99 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $543.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $526.43 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.29% and a return on equity of 5.32%. Casella Waste Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael K. Burke sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.26, for a total value of $104,786.00. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas R. Casella sold 15,157 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.05, for a total value of $1,380,044.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 91,484 shares in the company, valued at $8,329,618.20. This trade represents a 14.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,700 shares of company stock worth $1,709,494. 3.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in 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 worth $342,459,000 after acquiring an additional 949,374 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,804,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $222,507,000 after purchasing an additional 27,148 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $125,295,000 after purchasing an additional 80,299 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,067,132 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,663,000 after purchasing an additional 31,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 3.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 22,270 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

About Casella Waste Systems

Casella Waste Systems, Inc is a regional solid waste services company that provides collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource-management services. Its operations serve residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, including communities, businesses and institutions seeking to manage and recover value from solid waste.

The company’s activities include curbside and commercial waste collection, operation of transfer stations and landfills, recycling services, and the processing of organic materials.