Capital Research Global Investors Buys 477,216 Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 23.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,488,034 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 477,216 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors owned approximately 3.92% of Casella Waste Systems worth $243,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CWST. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 57.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 3,395 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 1,601.9% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 5,094 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 3,226.1% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,789,000 after purchasing an additional 67,749 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Casella Waste Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $63,000. Institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CWST opened at $85.90 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.54 and a 200-day moving average of $92.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of 780.98 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.05 and a 12 month high of $118.91.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $457.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, Director John W. Casella sold 1,744 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,795 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,877.15. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bradford John Helgeson sold 405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total transaction of $35,530.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 7,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,113.66. This represents a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 19,422 shares of company stock valued at $1,729,647 in the last quarter. 3.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on CWST shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays raised shares of Casella Waste Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $102.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.13.

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.