Short Interest in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Rises By 10.8%

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

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Casella Waste Systems stock traded down $0.31 during trading on Monday, reaching $111.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 234,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 256,703. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $108.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.06. Casella Waste Systems has a fifty-two week low of $83.50 and a fifty-two week high of $114.88. The firm has a market cap of $7.06 billion, a PE ratio of 929.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.46% and a return on equity of 3.04%. The business had revenue of $411.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems will post 0.65 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CWST. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, William Blair started coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.81, for a total value of $184,781.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,085 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,088.85. The trade was a 7.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Casella Waste Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Casella Waste Systems by 64.5% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Casella Waste Systems by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.