Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Short Interest Up 27.7% in December

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,621,943 shares, an increase of 27.7% from the December 15th total of 3,619,789 shares. Currently, 7.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,842,841 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,842,841 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 7.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CWST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Casella Waste Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Barclays set a $95.00 price objective on Casella Waste Systems and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a report on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.33.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CWST traded up $1.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $106.15. The stock had a trading volume of 593,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,137,616. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.51. Casella Waste Systems has a twelve month low of $82.22 and a twelve month high of $121.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.06. The stock has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 442.31 and a beta of 0.80.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $485.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.24 million. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.63% and a net margin of 0.85%.The firm’s revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CWST. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 72.1% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 536,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,891,000 after buying an additional 224,691 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in Casella Waste Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,707,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 8.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,876,061 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $272,881,000 after acquiring an additional 195,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fenimore Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Casella Waste Systems during the 3rd quarter worth $10,838,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems Company Profile

Casella Waste Systems, Inc is a regional resource management company headquartered in Rutland, Vermont. Established in 1975, the company has grown from a single-truck operation into a multi-state provider of integrated waste management solutions. Casella offers a comprehensive range of services, including residential, commercial and industrial waste collection, transfer station operations, landfill disposal, recycling processing and organics management.

Through a network of solid waste transfer stations, recycling facilities and landfills, Casella serves communities primarily across the northeastern United States and parts of the mid-Atlantic region.