Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Has $322.72 Million Holdings in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,243,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 143,270 shares during the period. Casella Waste Systems comprises approximately 4.4% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned about 5.59% of Casella Waste Systems worth $322,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. grew its position in Casella Waste Systems by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 270,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,725,000 after acquiring an additional 60,600 shares during the last quarter. Williams Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Casella Waste Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,427,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,536,410 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $547,385,000 after acquiring an additional 57,540 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 7.7% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 311,433 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,791,000 after acquiring an additional 22,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 667.9% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 48,231 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 41,950 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.51% of the company's stock.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CWST traded up $1.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $99.34. 303,382 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 314,764. The company has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 823.58, a P/E/G ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $102.76 and a 200 day moving average of $100.47. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $74.00 and a one year high of $109.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $412.59 million. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 3.42% and a net margin of 0.46%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 0.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CWST. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 price target (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Monday, August 5th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.50.

Casella Waste Systems Company 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.