Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 97,020 Shares of GFL Environmental Inc. $GFL

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in GFL Environmental by 0.9%, buying 97,020 shares to hold 11,156,675 shares (3.11%) valued at about $479.3 million in the latest 13F filing.
• Analysts have a "Moderate Buy" consensus on GFL with a consensus price target of $55, though individual ratings are mixed (2 Strong Buy, 11 Buy, 2 Hold, 1 Sell) and recent notes include both upgrades and downgrades from major firms.
• GFL trades near the low end of its 52‑week range (opened $36.98; 52‑week low/high $36.67/$51.70), has a market cap of about $13.2 billion and a high P/E (~115.6); it reported quarterly EPS of $0.06 (beat) and pays a small annualized dividend (~$0.07, 0.2% yield).

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE:GFL - Free Report) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,156,675 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 97,020 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 3.11% of GFL Environmental worth $479,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GFL. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in GFL Environmental by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,201,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,125,000 after purchasing an additional 977,344 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of GFL Environmental by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,673,954 shares of the company's stock worth $290,083,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932,442 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of GFL Environmental by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,023,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,377,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,108 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in GFL Environmental by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,054,084 shares of the company's stock worth $191,994,000 after buying an additional 38,966 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in GFL Environmental by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,412,497 shares of the company's stock worth $114,304,000 after purchasing an additional 929,206 shares during the period. 64.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of GFL Environmental in a report on Friday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of GFL Environmental from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $49.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of GFL Environmental from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of GFL Environmental from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on GFL Environmental from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, GFL Environmental currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.00.

GFL Environmental Price Performance

Shares of GFL stock opened at $36.98 on Wednesday. GFL Environmental Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.67 and a fifty-two week high of $51.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.58, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $41.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.14.

GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. GFL Environmental had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 4.53%. GFL Environmental's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.09) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that GFL Environmental Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GFL Environmental Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th were issued a $0.0169 dividend. This is an increase from GFL Environmental's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 13th. GFL Environmental's dividend payout ratio is 21.88%.

GFL Environmental Company Profile

GFL Environmental Inc is a leading North American provider of diversified environmental services, offering comprehensive solutions across solid waste management, liquid waste management, soil remediation and infrastructure services. The company's core business activities include residential, commercial and industrial waste collection, recycling, composting and landfill management. In addition to traditional waste services, GFL provides specialized liquid waste hauling, treatment and disposal services as well as environmental consulting to support industrial and municipal clients in meeting regulatory and sustainability goals.

Founded in 2007 by entrepreneur Patrick Dovigi, GFL Environmental has pursued an aggressive growth strategy driven by strategic acquisitions and organic expansion.

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