GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE:GFL) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday. 9,149,370 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 266% from the previous session’s volume of 2,498,937 shares. The stock last traded at $44.3010 and had previously closed at $44.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GFL. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of GFL Environmental in a report on Friday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Wolfe Research began coverage on GFL Environmental in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of GFL Environmental in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on GFL Environmental from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.44.

GFL Environmental Stock Down 0.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.78. The stock has a market cap of $15.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -83.35, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.72.

GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. GFL Environmental had a negative net margin of 3.28% and a positive return on equity of 4.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that GFL Environmental Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

GFL Environmental Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GFL Environmental

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in GFL Environmental by 36.9% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC raised its position in shares of GFL Environmental by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 7,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in GFL Environmental by 40.4% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in GFL Environmental during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of GFL Environmental by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 40,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after buying an additional 784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.