Traders Buy Large Volume of GFL Environmental Put Options (NYSE:GFL)

GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE:GFL) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 30,914 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 118% compared to the typical daily volume of 14,210 put options.

GFL Environmental Stock Up 0.0%

GFL stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $45.58. 3,659,146 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,580,753. 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 has a 1-year low of $33.33 and a 1-year high of $46.76. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.78. The firm has a market cap of $16.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.72.

GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that GFL Environmental will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GFL Environmental Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 14th. GFL Environmental’s dividend payout ratio is currently -13.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on GFL. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on GFL Environmental in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of GFL Environmental in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Barclays began coverage on GFL Environmental in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their price target on GFL Environmental from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of GFL Environmental in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.56.

Institutional Trading of GFL Environmental

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robeco Schweiz AG boosted its holdings in GFL Environmental by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 765,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,019,000 after purchasing an additional 300,659 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of GFL Environmental by 17.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of GFL Environmental by 28.5% during the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 10,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 2,228 shares during the period. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC raised its position in shares of GFL Environmental by 785.0% in the third quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 72,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,032,000 after buying an additional 64,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of GFL Environmental in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,681,000. 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.