Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Position in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,574,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 581,310 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Casella Waste Systems worth $643,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 180.2% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 235.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays upgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Casella Waste Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.13.

Key Headlines Impacting Casella Waste Systems

Here are the key news stories impacting Casella Waste Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat — Casella reported $0.20 EPS vs. a ~$0.10 consensus, beating estimates and topping year-ago EPS of $0.19, which helped lift sentiment. Zacks: Casella Tops Q1 Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat and growth — Q1 revenue was $457.33M vs. ~$454.5M expected, up ~9.6% year-over-year, signaling continued top-line growth. MarketBeat: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: FY2026 revenue guidance and acquisition strategy — Management issued FY2026 revenue guidance around $2.1B and highlighted strategic acquisitions as growth drivers, which supports a constructive forward view on revenue. GlobeNewswire: Q1 Results & Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary — The Q1 earnings call/transcript provided additional color on operations, acquisitions and execution; investors will watch how integration and cost synergies translate to margins. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Press coverage corroborates results — Local and national outlets summarized the beat and guidance; no major surprises beyond the results and acquisition focus. GreenwichTime: Q1 Snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and thin margins — The stock trades at a very high P/E (~724) and Casella’s reported net margin was about 0.43%, highlighting a stretched valuation relative to near-term earnings power that could limit upside if execution falters. MarketBeat: Valuation & Metrics

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

Shares of CWST opened at $86.83 on Monday. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.05 and a twelve month high of $121.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 789.44 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.10. The business 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 revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In other Casella Waste Systems news, President Edmond Coletta sold 3,812 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.70, for a total value of $357,184.40. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 147,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,782,426.70. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bradford John Helgeson sold 405 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total transaction of $35,530.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 7,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,113.66. The trade was a 5.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,830 shares of company stock valued at $1,454,208. Corporate insiders own 3.78% of the company’s stock.

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.