Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Buys 151,744 Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 21.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 848,976 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 151,744 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned about 1.34% of Casella Waste Systems worth $84,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. F M Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Casella Waste Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,093,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Casella Waste Systems by 3.1% in the second quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,386,970 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $336,055,000 after acquiring an additional 101,995 shares during the period. Seven Grand Managers LLC purchased a new position in Casella Waste Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $9,999,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 18.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 425,805 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65,580 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Casella Waste Systems in the first quarter worth $5,351,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.81, for a total value of $184,781.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 4.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CWST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. William Blair started coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 target price (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on 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. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.50.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ CWST traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $112.91. 435,220 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 316,389. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The company has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 945.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.12. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.16 and a 1 year high of $114.56.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 3.04% and a net margin of 0.46%. The business had revenue of $411.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $412.59 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 0.65 EPS 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.