Fred Alger Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Fred Alger Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 16.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 561,850 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 114,178 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 0.88% of Casella Waste Systems worth $53,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 57.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 3,395 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1,601.9% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 5,094 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 3,226.1% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,789,000 after purchasing an additional 67,749 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the period. 99.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, President Edmond Coletta sold 3,812 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.70, for a total value of $357,184.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 147,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,782,426.70. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Casella sold 6,726 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.10, for a total value 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. The trade was a 19.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,213 shares of company stock valued at $1,045,887. Insiders own 3.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CWST shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Zacks Research raised Casella Waste Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $120.00 price objective on Casella Waste Systems and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered Casella Waste Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.11.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of CWST opened at $88.09 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of 734.14 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $99.83 and its 200 day moving average is $95.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.22 and a fifty-two week high of $121.24.

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

Casella Waste Systems 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.