Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 45.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,730 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Casella Waste Systems were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Casella Waste Systems by 87.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 78,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,815,000 after acquiring an additional 36,573 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,430,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $142,393,000 after acquiring an additional 109,288 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 607,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $64,328,000 after purchasing an additional 14,369 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 31,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,140,000 after acquiring an additional 5,888 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

CWST stock opened at $111.14 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 483.22, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $110.10 and a 200-day moving average of $107.35. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.41 and a 12-month high of $116.31.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.25. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.87% and a return on equity of 4.15%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CWST shares. TD Cowen began coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Casella Waste Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $113.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.20.

Casella Waste Systems Profile

Casella Waste Systems, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a vertically integrated solid waste services company in the United States. It offers resource management services primarily in the areas of solid waste collection and disposal, transfer, recycling, and organics services to residential, commercial, municipal, institutional, and industrial customers.