Traders Purchase High Volume of GFL Environmental Call Options (NYSE:GFL)

GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE:GFL) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 4,694 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 463% compared to the average volume of 834 call options.

GFL Environmental Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE GFL opened at $48.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $18.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.09 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.59. GFL Environmental has a 12-month low of $30.57 and a 12-month high of $48.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. GFL Environmental had a positive return on equity of 3.50% and a negative net margin of 7.54%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that GFL Environmental will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GFL Environmental Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th were paid a dividend of $0.014 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 13th. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.12%. GFL Environmental’s payout ratio is currently -3.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GFL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of GFL Environmental in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of GFL Environmental from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised GFL Environmental from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. National Bankshares reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of GFL Environmental in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of GFL Environmental in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GFL Environmental

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GFL. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in GFL Environmental by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,664,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,233,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,506,021 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of GFL Environmental by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 26,973,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,201,406,000 after buying an additional 2,751,618 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of GFL Environmental by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,817,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,287,000 after buying an additional 257,486 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its position in GFL Environmental by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 10,411,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,713,000 after acquiring an additional 190,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in GFL Environmental by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,697,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,705,000 after acquiring an additional 217,096 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.70% of the company’s stock.

About GFL Environmental

GFL Environmental Inc offers non-hazardous solid waste management and environmental services in Canada and the United States. It offers solid waste management, liquid waste management, and soil remediation services, including collection, transportation, transfer, recycling, and disposal services for municipal, residential, and commercial, and industrial customers.