GFL Environmental Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:GFL)

GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE:GFL) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 25,084 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 2,300% compared to the average volume of 1,045 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on GFL. Zacks Research lowered GFL Environmental from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of GFL Environmental in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of GFL Environmental from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of GFL Environmental in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Citigroup set a $51.00 target price on GFL Environmental and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GFL Environmental currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.25.

Institutional Trading of GFL Environmental

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GFL. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in GFL Environmental by 684.5% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of GFL Environmental by 94.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 714,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,514,000 after buying an additional 346,394 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of GFL Environmental by 3.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 458,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,171,000 after buying an additional 14,252 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in GFL Environmental by 22.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 86,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,388,000 after acquiring an additional 16,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in GFL Environmental by 43.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 727 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. 64.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GFL Environmental Price Performance

NYSE GFL traded down $0.17 on Tuesday, hitting $43.56. The company had a trading volume of 414,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,285,050. The company has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a PE ratio of -82.17, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. GFL Environmental has a 12-month low of $33.33 and a 12-month high of $48.28.

GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.03). GFL Environmental had a negative net margin of 3.28% and a positive return on equity of 4.14%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that GFL Environmental will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

GFL Environmental Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 13th were issued a dividend of $0.0169 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 13th. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. GFL Environmental’s dividend payout ratio is presently -13.21%.

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.