Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $6.59 Million Stock Position in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,079 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,132 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.13% of Casella Waste Systems worth $6,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Casella Waste Systems by 235.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 99.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CWST. UBS Group reduced their price objective on 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 restated a “buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Barclays raised Casella Waste Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have given 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 price target of $110.12.

Insider Activity

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

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Casella Waste Systems stock opened at $89.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 813.71 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $90.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.95. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $74.05 and a 52-week high of $109.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $457.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $454.49 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 5.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.