Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST Stake Raised by Wasatch Advisors LP

Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 36.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,531,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 949,374 shares during the quarter. Casella Waste Systems accounts for 2.2% of Wasatch Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Wasatch Advisors LP owned approximately 5.55% of Casella Waste Systems worth $342,459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWST. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Casella Waste Systems by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

CWST stock opened at $92.52 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $91.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.22. The stock has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,028.11 and a beta of 0.74. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $74.05 and a fifty-two week high of $107.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.29% and a return on equity of 5.32%. The company had revenue of $543.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $526.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casella Waste Systems

In other news, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total value of $1,119,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 140,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,548,968.08. This represents a 8.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael K. Burke sold 2,305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.56, for a total transaction of $201,825.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,048 shares in the company, valued at $1,230,042.88. This trade represents a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CWST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Casella Waste Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.75.

Casella Waste Systems Profile

Casella Waste Systems, Inc is a regional resource management company headquartered in Rutland, Vermont. Established in 1975, the company has grown from a single-truck operation into a multi-state provider of integrated waste management solutions. Casella offers a comprehensive range of services, including residential, commercial and industrial waste collection, transfer station operations, landfill disposal, recycling processing and organics management.

Through a network of solid waste transfer stations, recycling facilities and landfills, Casella serves communities primarily across the northeastern United States and parts of the mid-Atlantic region.