Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,733 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,997 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Casella Waste Systems were worth $570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CWST. F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Casella Waste Systems during the 2nd quarter worth $11,093,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 3.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 101,995 shares during the last quarter. Seven Grand Managers LLC acquired a new stake in Casella Waste Systems during the 3rd quarter worth $9,999,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 425,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,249,000 after acquiring an additional 65,580 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 1st quarter worth $5,351,000. 99.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CWST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Monday, August 5th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.50.

Insider Transactions at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,252,088.85. This trade represents a 7.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of CWST opened at $112.56 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $102.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.12. The stock has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of 938.00, a P/E/G ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 0.99. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.16 and a 12 month high of $112.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 2.48.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $411.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.59 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.46% and a return on equity of 3.04%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Casella Waste Systems

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.