Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 31,471 Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its Casella Waste Systems stake by 3.0%, acquiring 31,471 shares to own 1.07 million shares worth approximately $84.7 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 99.51% of the company.
• Casella reported first-quarter EPS of $0.20, beating estimates by $0.10, while revenue rose 9.6% year over year to $457.33 million. Analysts forecast full-year EPS of $1.06.
• CWST shares opened at $89.50, down 1.1%, while analysts maintained a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $110.12 price target; insider selling included stock disposals by the CEO and a director.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,067,132 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,471 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.68% of Casella Waste Systems worth $84,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CWST. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Casella Waste Systems by 21.0% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,019 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 0.3% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 123,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,806,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Roubaix Capital LLC bought a new stake in Casella Waste Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $4,980,000. Future Fund LLC increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 27.2% in the 1st quarter. Future Fund LLC now owns 19,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 4,151 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 721,890 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $58,863,000 after buying an additional 22,270 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of CWST opened at $89.50 on Friday. 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 $109.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 813.71 and a beta of 0.74. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $90.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.95.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $457.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $454.49 million. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.19% and a net margin of 0.38%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CWST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Casella Waste Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Barclays raised Casella Waste Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $101.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.12.

Insider Transactions at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 12,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 140,118 shares in the company, valued at $12,548,968.08. This represents a 8.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael K. Burke sold 2,305 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.56, for a total transaction of $201,825.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,230,042.88. The trade was a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.78% of the company's stock.

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.

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