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

GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE:GFL) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 4,694 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 463% compared to the typical volume of 834 call options.

GFL Environmental Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GFL opened at $48.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. GFL Environmental has a fifty-two week low of $30.57 and a fifty-two week high of $48.87. The stock has a market cap of $18.94 billion, a PE ratio of -36.19 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.99 and a 200-day moving average of $43.62.

GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that GFL Environmental will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

GFL Environmental Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Generate Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of GFL Environmental in the fourth quarter worth $15,041,000. Tobam purchased a new stake in shares of GFL Environmental in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,846,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of GFL Environmental by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,158,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,003,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,728,598 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of GFL Environmental during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,807,000. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of GFL Environmental by 14.6% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 310,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,399,000 after purchasing an additional 39,558 shares in the last quarter. 64.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

GFL Environmental Company Profile

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.