Can You Imagine How Elated Casella Waste Systems' (NASDAQ:CWST) Shareholders Feel About Its 738% Share Price Gain?
Buying shares in the best businesses can build meaningful wealth for you and your family. And we've seen some truly amazing gains over the years. For example, the Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) share price is up a whopping 738% in the last half decade, a handsome return for long term holders. If that doesn't get you thinking about long term investing, we don't know what will.
It really delights us to see such great share price performance for investors.
Check out our latest analysis for Casella Waste Systems
While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).
During the five years of share price growth, Casella Waste Systems moved from a loss to profitability. That kind of transition can be an inflection point that justifies a strong share price gain, just as we have seen here.
The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. This free interactive report on Casella Waste Systems' earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
A Different Perspective
It's good to see that Casella Waste Systems has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 34% in the last twelve months. Having said that, the five-year TSR of 53% a year, is even better. Potential buyers might understandably feel they've missed the opportunity, but it's always possible business is still firing on all cylinders. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Casella Waste Systems (at least 1 which is a bit concerning) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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