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

GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE:GFL) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 38,721 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 156% compared to the typical daily volume of 15,121 call options.

GFL Environmental Trading Down 3.8%

GFL stock traded down $1.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.27. The stock had a trading volume of 5,261,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,613,632. The firm has a market cap of $15.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -81.65, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.72. GFL Environmental has a twelve month low of $33.33 and a twelve month high of $46.76. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.80.

GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.14 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 business had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that GFL Environmental will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GFL Environmental Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 14th will be issued a $0.0169 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 14th. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. GFL Environmental’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -13.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GFL shares. Citigroup set a $51.00 price target on GFL Environmental and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of GFL Environmental from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of GFL Environmental in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of GFL Environmental from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of GFL Environmental in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.56.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GFL Environmental

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WPG Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of GFL Environmental by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 1,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. raised its holdings in GFL Environmental by 167.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 5,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 3,557 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board lifted its stake in GFL Environmental by 15.6% in the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 8,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 1,194 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in GFL Environmental by 30.9% in the third quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 976,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,829,000 after buying an additional 230,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. acquired a new position in shares of GFL Environmental in the third quarter valued at approximately $9,082,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.70% of the company’s stock.

About GFL Environmental

GFL Environmental Inc is a Canadian 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, as well as organics and other resource-recovery services.

GFL also provides infrastructure and soil remediation services, including the management of contaminated materials and related environmental projects.