Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,876,061 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 195,947 shares during the period. Casella Waste Systems comprises about 4.4% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned 4.53% of Casella Waste Systems worth $272,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWST. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Casella Waste Systems during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Casella Waste Systems by 325.5% during the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Casella Waste Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CWST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital upgraded Casella Waste Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.33.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:CWST opened at $99.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 416.52 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.95 and a 200-day moving average of $97.49. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $82.22 and a one year high of $121.24.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.09. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.85% and a return on equity of 5.63%. The business had revenue of $485.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. Casella Waste Systems’s revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Casella Waste Systems Company 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.