Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST Shares Acquired by GW&K Investment Management LLC

GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 20.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 226,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,640 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned 0.36% of Casella Waste Systems worth $21,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 57.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,035,000 after buying 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 first 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 in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 67,749 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Casella Waste Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $120.00 price target on Casella Waste Systems and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research raised Casella Waste Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John W. Casella sold 6,726 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.10, for a total value of $626,190.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,989 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,775.90. This represents a 19.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Edmond Coletta sold 3,812 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.70, for a total value of $357,184.40. Following the sale, the president owned 147,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,782,426.70. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,213 shares of company stock worth $1,045,887. 3.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

CWST opened at $97.48 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $100.86 and its 200-day moving average is $95.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 812.40 and a beta of 0.80. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.22 and a twelve month high of $121.24.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.08. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.43% and a return on equity of 5.17%. The business had revenue of $469.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $471.32 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current 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.