Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) CEO Sells $1,119,500.00 in Stock

Key Points

• CEO Edmond Coletta sold 12,500 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock on May 19 for about $1.12 million at an average price of $89.56, reducing his direct holdings by 8.19%.
• The article notes additional recent insider sales by Coletta in March and February, suggesting a pattern of selling shares over the past few months.
• Casella Waste Systems beat quarterly earnings expectations on April 30, reporting EPS of $0.20 versus $0.10 expected and revenue of $457.33 million, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $111.13.

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) CEO Edmond Coletta sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total value of $1,119,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 140,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,548,968.08. The trade was a 8.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Edmond Coletta also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 16th, Edmond Coletta sold 988 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total value of $86,756.28.
• On Thursday, March 12th, Edmond Coletta sold 377 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.80, for a total value of $33,854.60.
• On Friday, February 27th, Edmond Coletta sold 3,812 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.70, for a total value of $357,184.40.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

Shares of Casella Waste Systems stock traded down $0.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $86.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 78,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 786,105. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.05 and a 12-month high of $118.91. The company has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 786.24 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.82.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.10. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.19% and a net margin of 0.38%.The firm had revenue of $457.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $454.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Casella Waste Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CWST. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 33.3% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 80,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,590,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 40.9% in the third quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 102,003 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,678,000 after acquiring an additional 29,605 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 14.3% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 81,417 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,725,000 after acquiring an additional 10,207 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the third quarter valued at $5,519,000. Finally, Ranger Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 15.5% in the third quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 346,020 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,830,000 after acquiring an additional 46,450 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CWST shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Casella Waste Systems from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays upgraded Casella Waste Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $101.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.13.

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.

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