Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 305,665 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,742 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.48% of Casella Waste Systems worth $24,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. 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. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 140,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,548,968.08. This represents a 8.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael K. Burke sold 2,305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 14.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 3.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upgraded Casella Waste Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $101.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group cut 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised Casella Waste Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.12.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Down 2.2%

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

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $457.33 million for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. Research 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.