Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Short Interest Update

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,250,000 shares, a growth of 10.8% from the December 15th total of 2,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 309,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.3 days.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CWST traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $111.49. 234,226 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 256,703. The stock has a market cap of $7.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 929.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.03. Casella Waste Systems has a fifty-two week low of $83.50 and a fifty-two week high of $114.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.06. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $411.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $412.59 million. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 3.04% and a net margin of 0.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems will post 0.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CWST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Casella Waste Systems news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Casella Waste Systems

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 6.4% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 7,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1.8% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 10,436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

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.