Short Interest in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Rises By 11.7%

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,000,000 shares, a growth of 11.7% from the October 15th total of 1,790,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 349,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.7 days.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

CWST stock traded up $1.46 during trading on Monday, hitting $108.01. 290,399 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 316,001. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.66. 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 $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 900.08, a P/E/G ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 0.99. Casella Waste Systems has a 1 year low of $79.16 and a 1 year high of $111.01.

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). The business had revenue of $411.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $412.59 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.46% and a return on equity of 3.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.81, for a total transaction of $184,781.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,088.85. This represents a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Casella Waste Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 8.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,430,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $142,393,000 after buying an additional 109,288 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 29.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 131,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,122,000 after buying an additional 29,686 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 10.1% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 20,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,026,000 after buying an additional 1,861 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,854,000. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 27.2% in the third quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 193,263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,228,000 after acquiring an additional 41,336 shares during the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James increased their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, William Blair began coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.