GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE:GFL)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $37.48, but opened at $39.77. GFL Environmental shares last traded at $40.0770, with a volume of 1,288,093 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on GFL Environmental from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Citigroup set a $51.00 price objective on shares of GFL Environmental and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating on shares of GFL Environmental in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of GFL Environmental from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of GFL Environmental from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.78.

GFL Environmental Stock Up 2.3%

The stock has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 129.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.01. GFL Environmental had a return on equity of 4.53% and a net margin of 3.09%.The business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.09) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that GFL Environmental Inc. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GFL Environmental Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.0169 per share. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 13th. GFL Environmental’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of GFL Environmental by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,863,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $939,043,000 after purchasing an additional 3,267,936 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in GFL Environmental by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,201,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,125,000 after purchasing an additional 977,344 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in GFL Environmental by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,156,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,255,000 after purchasing an additional 97,020 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in GFL Environmental by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,511,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,595,000 after buying an additional 185,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in GFL Environmental by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,673,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,083,000 after buying an additional 1,932,442 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.70% of the company’s stock.

About GFL Environmental

GFL Environmental Inc is a leading North American provider of diversified environmental services, offering comprehensive solutions across solid waste management, liquid waste management, soil remediation and infrastructure services. The company’s core business activities include residential, commercial and industrial waste collection, recycling, composting and landfill management. In addition to traditional waste services, GFL provides specialized liquid waste hauling, treatment and disposal services as well as environmental consulting to support industrial and municipal clients in meeting regulatory and sustainability goals.

Founded in 2007 by entrepreneur Patrick Dovigi, GFL Environmental has pursued an aggressive growth strategy driven by strategic acquisitions and organic expansion.