Ranger Investment Management L.P. Purchases New Position in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Key Points

• Ranger Investment Management initiated a 330,460-share Casella Waste Systems position worth approximately $32.0 million, representing 0.52% of the company and about 2% of Ranger’s portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 99.51% of CWST.
• Casella exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.40 EPS versus the $0.36 consensus and $543.75 million in revenue, up 16.9% year over year. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $1.24.
• CWST has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $109.75, compared with its reported share price of $92.01; however, insiders sold 18,805 shares worth $1.7 million over the past 90 days.

Ranger Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 330,460 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $32,045,000. Casella Waste Systems makes up about 2.0% of Ranger Investment Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Ranger Investment Management L.P. owned 0.52% of Casella Waste Systems at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,574,893 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $643,945,000 after purchasing an additional 581,310 shares during the period. Riverbridge Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $13,742,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 653.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 841,897 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,455,000 after buying an additional 730,128 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new stake in Casella Waste Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $4,246,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Casella Waste Systems by 1,019.4% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,832 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,453,000 after buying an additional 13,507 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.51% of the company's stock.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CWST opened at $92.01 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 1,022.45 and a beta of 0.74. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $92.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.48. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $74.05 and a one year high of $107.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.32% and a net margin of 0.29%.The firm had revenue of $543.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $526.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. Casella Waste Systems's quarterly revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CWST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Casella Waste Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Douglas R. Casella sold 1,343 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.12, for a total transaction of $122,374.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 90,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,213,647.92. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael K. Burke sold 2,305 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.56, for a total value of $201,825.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,805 shares of company stock valued at $1,704,245. 3.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Casella Waste Systems

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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