Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Makes New $14.92 Million Investment in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 150,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,924,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,386,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,055,000 after buying an additional 101,995 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,680,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $166,725,000 after buying an additional 51,516 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,040,619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $103,531,000 after buying an additional 4,324 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 950,484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,564,000 after buying an additional 39,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 861,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $85,476,000 after buying an additional 26,189 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In other Casella Waste Systems news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.81, for a total value of $184,781.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,088.85. This represents a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 4.24% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CWST opened at $112.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.16 and a fifty-two week high of $114.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.40. The company has a market cap of $7.11 billion, a PE ratio of 935.67, a P/E/G ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 0.99.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.46% and a return on equity of 3.04%. The business had revenue of $411.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. Casella Waste Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 0.65 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CWST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 target price (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casella Waste Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.50.

Casella Waste Systems Profile

Casella Waste Systems, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a vertically integrated solid waste services company in the United States. It offers resource management services primarily in the areas of solid waste collection and disposal, transfer, recycling, and organics services to residential, commercial, municipal, institutional, and industrial customers.