GFL Environmental Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:GFL)

GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE:GFL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 37,490 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 313% compared to the typical daily volume of 9,069 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GFL Environmental

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of GFL Environmental by 43.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,847,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,064,000 after purchasing an additional 563,001 shares during the last quarter. Bornite Capital Management LP increased its position in GFL Environmental by 80.8% during the fourth quarter. Bornite Capital Management LP now owns 1,342,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,656,000 after buying an additional 600,000 shares during the period. Verbena Value LP increased its position in GFL Environmental by 44.7% during the first quarter. Verbena Value LP now owns 1,211,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,527,000 after buying an additional 374,000 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in GFL Environmental by 68.7% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,158,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,309,000 after buying an additional 471,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advent International L.P. lifted its stake in GFL Environmental by 117.1% in the first quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 823,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,336,000 after buying an additional 443,918 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on GFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of GFL Environmental from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of GFL Environmental in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of GFL Environmental from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of GFL Environmental in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of GFL Environmental in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.67.

GFL Environmental Stock Performance

Shares of GFL opened at $42.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -79.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.72. GFL Environmental has a 52-week low of $33.33 and a 52-week high of $47.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.62.

GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.03). GFL Environmental had a positive return on equity of 4.14% and a negative net margin of 3.28%.The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that GFL Environmental will post 0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GFL Environmental Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 14th will be given a $0.0169 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 14th. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. GFL Environmental’s payout ratio is -13.21%.

GFL Environmental Company Profile

GFL Environmental Inc is a North American environmental services company that provides waste management and related infrastructure services to municipal, residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers. The company’s operations include the collection, transfer, processing, recycling and disposal of non-hazardous solid waste.

GFL also provides recycling and organics management services, including the processing of recyclable materials and organic waste. Its environmental services include liquid waste management, soil remediation, infrastructure services and other specialized solutions for industrial and commercial customers.

Founded in 2007, GFL is headquartered in Vaughan, Ontario, and serves communities and customers across Canada and the United States.