Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,450,000 shares, a growth of 33.2% from the March 31st total of 1,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 475,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days. Currently, 4.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CWST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Casella Waste Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.67.

Insider Activity

In other Casella Waste Systems news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.67, for a total transaction of $237,340.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,414,578.49. The trade was a 8.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Casella Waste Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CWST. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 87.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 78,549 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,815,000 after buying an additional 36,573 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 607,954 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $64,328,000 after purchasing an additional 14,369 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,979 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company's stock.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ CWST traded down $0.58 on Friday, hitting $116.75. 609,844 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 365,995. The firm has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 507.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $112.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.28. Casella Waste Systems has a fifty-two week low of $91.01 and a fifty-two week high of $120.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.48.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.08. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 4.15% and a net margin of 0.87%. The firm had revenue of $417.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. Casella Waste Systems's quarterly revenue was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.16 EPS for the current 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.