Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of 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 trading volume of 309,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.00.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $106.81, for a total value of $184,781.30. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,854,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Casella Waste Systems by 50.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,454,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $144,704,000 after purchasing an additional 487,661 shares in the last quarter. Maven Securities LTD acquired a new position in Casella Waste Systems in the third quarter worth about $19,898,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 21.8% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 848,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,465,000 after purchasing an additional 151,744 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Casella Waste Systems during the third quarter valued at approximately $14,924,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

CWST stock traded down $0.31 on Friday, reaching $111.49. 234,226 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 256,703. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a PE ratio of 929.08, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.03. Casella Waste Systems has a 12 month low of $83.50 and a 12 month high of $114.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $108.64 and its 200 day moving average price 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 posted 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 company had revenue of $411.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.59 million. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 3.04% and a net margin of 0.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems will post 0.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.