Yousif Capital Management LLC Invests $1.78 Million in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Key Points

• Yousif Capital Management opened a new Q4 position in Casella Waste Systems, buying 17,192 shares valued at about $1.78 million.
• Several large institutions materially increased stakes (e.g., AllianceBernstein +1,106.7% to 867,285 shares; Capital Research and Wasatch also added hundreds of thousands to millions of shares), and institutional investors now own 99.51% of the company.
• Company insiders have been net sellers—15,830 shares (~$1.45M) sold in the past 90 days—while Casella beat quarterly EPS and saw revenue up 9.7% year-over-year; the stock, however, trades at a stretched P/E of ~695 and sits below its 50- and 200-day moving averages.

Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 17,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,784,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 1,106.7% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 867,285 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $100,067,000 after purchasing an additional 795,414 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 39.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,010,818 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $190,786,000 after acquiring an additional 566,887 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,412,123 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $393,691,000 after acquiring an additional 428,909 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,390,635 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $131,943,000 after acquiring an additional 317,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 72.1% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 536,376 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $50,891,000 after acquiring an additional 224,691 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, CFO Bradford John Helgeson sold 405 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 7,342 shares in the company, valued at $644,113.66. The trade was a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Casella sold 1,744 shares of the business'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 directly owned 30,795 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,877.15. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,830 shares of company stock valued at $1,454,208. Company insiders own 3.81% of the company's stock.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

Shares of Casella Waste Systems stock opened at $83.44 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $90.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 695.39 and a beta of 0.84. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $74.05 and a one year high of $121.24.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.08. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.17% and a net margin of 0.43%.The firm had revenue of $469.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $471.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CWST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut Casella Waste Systems from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $120.00 price target on Casella Waste Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research raised Casella Waste Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.00.

Casella Waste Systems Company 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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