Wasatch Advisors LP Sells 1,183,222 Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Wasatch Advisors LP reduced its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 31.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,582,220 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,183,222 shares during the period. Casella Waste Systems comprises about 1.4% of Wasatch Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Wasatch Advisors LP owned 4.07% of Casella Waste Systems worth $204,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CWST. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 280.0% in the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 140,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,548,968.08. This represents a 8.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael K. Burke sold 2,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 14,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,230,042.88. The trade was a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CWST. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, June 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays upgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Casella Waste Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.12.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ:CWST opened at $94.35 on Friday. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $74.05 and a 1-year high of $117.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 857.81 and a beta of 0.77.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $457.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $454.49 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 5.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.