Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $2.24 Million Stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Key Points

• Teachers Retirement System of the State of Kentucky boosted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 203.5%, owning 22,841 shares worth about $2.24 million at the end of the quarter.
• Institutional investors hold 99.51% of CWST, while insiders have been net sellers—disposing of 15,830 shares (≈$1.45 million) in the past three months and now owning 3.81% of the stock.
• Analyst views are mixed but tilt positive: MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $111, despite recent target cuts from some firms.

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 203.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,841 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 15,316 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Casella Waste Systems were worth $2,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CWST. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 180.2% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 297 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Casella Waste Systems during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 235.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 285 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 280.0% during the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 399 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CWST. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Kevin Drohan sold 675 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $62,511.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at $691,055.82. This trade represents a 8.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bradford John Helgeson sold 405 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total transaction of $35,530.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 7,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,113.66. This represents a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,830 shares of company stock valued at $1,454,208. 3.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

CWST opened at $77.75 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $86.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of 647.97 and a beta of 0.84. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $74.05 and a 52 week high of $121.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $469.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $471.32 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.43% and a return on equity of 5.17%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current year.

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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