Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Makes New Investment in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Key Points

• Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund opened a new position in Casella Waste Systems, buying 14,300 shares worth about $1.4 million in the fourth quarter.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with Casella Waste Systems carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $111.13, though some firms recently trimmed targets or downgraded the stock.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.20 versus the $0.10 estimate and revenue of $457.33 million, up 9.6% year over year.

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 14,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,401,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CWST. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,975 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 180.2% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 297 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA now owns 500 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CWST. Weiss Ratings downgraded Casella Waste Systems from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. 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 note on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays raised Casella Waste Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $102.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casella Waste Systems has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 988 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total value of $86,756.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 152,618 shares in the company, valued at $13,401,386.58. This trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Casella sold 1,744 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total value of $153,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,795 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,702,877.15. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 15,830 shares of company stock valued at $1,454,208 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.78% of the company's stock.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CWST opened at $85.18 on Monday. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $74.05 and a 1-year high of $118.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The business's 50 day moving average is $83.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 774.43 and a beta of 0.77.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $454.49 million. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.19% and a net margin of 0.38%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current 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.

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