Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Position in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 305,665 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,742 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Casella Waste Systems were worth $24,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Down 2.2%

CWST opened at $93.57 on Tuesday. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $74.05 and a 52 week high of $111.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.49. The firm has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 850.71 and a beta of 0.74.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.10. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.19% and a net margin of 0.38%.The firm had revenue of $457.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $454.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casella Waste Systems

In other Casella Waste Systems news, Director Michael K. Burke sold 2,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.56, for a total transaction of $201,825.80. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 12,500 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total value of $1,119,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 140,118 shares in the company, valued at $12,548,968.08. This trade represents a 8.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 3.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CWST. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Barclays raised Casella Waste Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $101.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Casella Waste Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.12.

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.