Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Lowers Stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 39.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 163,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 108,182 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Casella Waste Systems were worth $17,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CWST. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $676,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Casella Waste Systems by 124.4% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 276 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 7,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ:CWST opened at $118.50 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a PE ratio of 515.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.89. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.01 and a 52 week high of $122.47. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $112.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.86.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $417.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $403.64 million. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 4.15% and a net margin of 0.87%. The business’s revenue was up 22.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.67, for a total value of $237,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,347 shares in the company, valued at $2,414,578.49. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Edmond Coletta sold 5,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total transaction of $662,879.16. Following the transaction, the president now owns 150,093 shares in the company, valued at $17,888,083.74. The trade was a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CWST shares. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Casella Waste Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $113.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.67.

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.