Fifth Third Bancorp Grows Stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 5,715.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 387,531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 380,867 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Casella Waste Systems were worth $30,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 235.3% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ CWST opened at $98.09 on Tuesday. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.05 and a 1 year high of $112.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.65. The firm has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 891.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.10. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.19% and a net margin of 0.38%.The company had revenue of $457.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $454.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. Casella Waste Systems’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CWST shares. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Barclays upgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $101.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casella Waste Systems

In other news, Director Michael K. Burke sold 2,305 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total value of $1,119,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 140,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,548,968.08. The trade was a 8.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.