Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Short Interest Down 12.4% in February

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) was the target of a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 3,602,775 shares, a drop of 12.4% from the February 12th total of 4,114,877 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 928,021 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days. Currently, 5.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 5.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 928,021 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In other news, CFO Bradford John Helgeson sold 405 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total transaction of $35,530.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 7,342 shares in the company, valued at $644,113.66. This trade represents a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Casella sold 1,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total transaction of $153,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,795 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,877.15. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,830 shares of company stock valued at $1,454,208. Corporate insiders own 3.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 57.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 3,395 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1,601.9% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 5,094 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 3,226.1% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,789,000 after buying an additional 67,749 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Casella Waste Systems by 0.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,500,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $173,101,000 after buying an additional 12,016 shares during the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut Casella Waste Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.11.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

CWST stock opened at $85.91 on Thursday. Casella Waste Systems has a 52 week low of $82.22 and a 52 week high of $121.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 715.98 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.08. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.43% and a return on equity of 5.17%. The firm had revenue of $469.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $471.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.