Citigroup Inc. Trims Position in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Citigroup Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 51.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 35,727 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Casella Waste Systems worth $3,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 1,106.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 867,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,067,000 after purchasing an additional 795,414 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the second quarter valued at about $55,948,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 20.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,597,599 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $299,711,000 after buying an additional 432,589 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 14.4% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,412,123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $393,691,000 after buying an additional 428,909 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Casella Waste Systems by 72.1% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 536,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,891,000 after acquiring an additional 224,691 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of CWST stock opened at $97.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.22 and a 12 month high of $121.24. The stock has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 812.40 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.80.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $469.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.32 million. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.17% and a net margin of 0.43%.Casella Waste Systems’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John W. Casella sold 6,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.10, for a total transaction of $626,190.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,989 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,775.90. This trade represents a 19.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Kevin Drohan sold 675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $62,511.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $691,055.82. This represents a 8.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 11,213 shares of company stock worth $1,045,887 over the last three months. 3.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CWST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $120.00 price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.22.

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.