GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Shares of GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE:GFL) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday. 9,149,370 shares were traded during 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GFL shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating on shares of GFL Environmental in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on GFL Environmental in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target on GFL Environmental from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of GFL Environmental in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of GFL Environmental in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.44.

GFL Environmental Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -83.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. GFL Environmental had a positive return on equity of 4.14% and a negative net margin of 3.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that GFL Environmental Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GFL Environmental Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.0169 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 14th. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. GFL Environmental’s dividend payout ratio is currently -13.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFL. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in GFL Environmental by 43.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,847,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,064,000 after acquiring an additional 563,001 shares during the period. Verbena Value LP boosted its holdings in shares of GFL Environmental by 44.7% in the first quarter. Verbena Value LP now owns 1,211,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,527,000 after acquiring an additional 374,000 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of GFL Environmental by 68.7% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,158,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,309,000 after purchasing an additional 471,935 shares in the last quarter. Advent International L.P. raised its stake in shares of GFL Environmental by 117.1% during the 1st quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 823,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,336,000 after purchasing an additional 443,918 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in GFL Environmental by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 815,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,969,000 after purchasing an additional 168,200 shares in the last quarter. 64.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GFL Environmental Company Profile

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.