Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Sells 355,695 Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC cut its position in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,879,432 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 355,695 shares during the quarter. Casella Waste Systems accounts for 4.8% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned 4.54% of Casella Waste Systems worth $321,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,110,529 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $646,555,000 after acquiring an additional 123,001 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,577,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $272,705,000 after acquiring an additional 838,086 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,830,220 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $193,656,000 after acquiring an additional 13,678 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,644,476 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $174,002,000 after acquiring an additional 190,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,446,875 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $153,129,000 after acquiring an additional 15,917 shares during the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CWST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Casella Waste Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.67.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Shares of CWST stock traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $117.49. The stock had a trading volume of 295,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,826. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.01 and a twelve month high of $121.24. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.46 billion, a PE ratio of 534.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.86.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.08. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 4.69%. The business had revenue of $417.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $403.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Casella Waste Systems news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.67, for a total transaction of $237,340.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,414,578.49. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Edmond Coletta sold 5,562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total transaction of $662,879.16. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 150,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,888,083.74. The trade was a 3.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.81% of the company's stock.

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.