Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Shares Purchased by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 13.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,927 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.09% of Casella Waste Systems worth $6,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the first quarter valued at about $1,480,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 138.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 71.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 5.6% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 91,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,228,000 after acquiring an additional 4,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CWST shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.67.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CWST opened at $107.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $114.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.49. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.01 and a 52-week high of $121.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 490.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.84.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.08. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 4.69%. The firm had revenue of $417.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $403.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. Casella Waste Systems’s revenue was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Casella Waste Systems

In other Casella Waste Systems news, President Edmond Coletta sold 5,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total value of $662,879.16. Following the transaction, the president owned 150,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,888,083.74. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Casella Waste Systems Company 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.