Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 42.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 328,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 245,633 shares during the quarter. Casella Waste Systems accounts for about 2.0% of Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.52% of Casella Waste Systems worth $32,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CWST. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 10,865.8% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 990,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,040,000 after purchasing an additional 981,617 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 1,106.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 867,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,067,000 after purchasing an additional 795,414 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 653.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 841,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,455,000 after purchasing an additional 730,128 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,574,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $643,945,000 after acquiring an additional 581,310 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 39.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,010,818 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $190,786,000 after acquiring an additional 566,887 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CWST. Barclays raised shares of Casella Waste Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $101.00 to $102.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Up 2.7%

NASDAQ CWST opened at $85.90 on Friday. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $74.05 and a one year high of $118.91. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $83.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 780.98 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.10. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 5.19%. The firm had revenue of $457.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $454.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. Casella Waste Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John W. Casella sold 1,744 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total transaction of $153,070.88. Following the sale, the director owned 30,795 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,877.15. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bradford John Helgeson sold 405 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total transaction of $35,530.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 7,342 shares in the company, valued at $644,113.66. This represents a 5.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,422 shares of company stock worth $1,729,647. Company insiders own 3.78% of the company’s stock.

About Casella Waste Systems

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.