Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Casella Waste Systems were worth $564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1,606.7% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. 99.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

CWST stock opened at $109.78 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $109.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.56. The stock has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 477.30, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.05. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.41 and a fifty-two week high of $116.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.25. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 4.15% and a net margin of 0.87%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CWST shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Casella Waste Systems from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Casella Waste Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.75.

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.