Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of GFL Environmental Call Options (NYSE:GFL)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders purchased 21,786 GFL Environmental call options, roughly 409% above the average volume of 4,283 contracts.
• Analyst outlook remains positive: Twelve analysts rate the stock a Buy, giving GFL an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $57.60.
• Stock and earnings performance: GFL shares closed at $41.56 after falling $0.78, while quarterly EPS of $0.14 missed estimates but revenue rose 16.3% year over year to $1.37 billion.

GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE:GFL - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 21,786 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 409% compared to the average volume of 4,283 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on GFL shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of GFL Environmental from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of GFL Environmental in a report on Friday, September 11th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of GFL Environmental in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Barclays started coverage on GFL Environmental in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on GFL Environmental from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, GFL Environmental currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.60.

GFL Environmental Stock Performance

GFL Environmental stock traded down $0.78 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,042,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,353,716. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -78.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $41.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.73. GFL Environmental has a 52 week low of $33.33 and a 52 week high of $48.07.

GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL - Get Free Report) 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). GFL Environmental had a negative net margin of 3.28% and a positive return on equity of 4.14%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that GFL Environmental will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GFL Environmental Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th were issued a $0.0169 dividend. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 13th. GFL Environmental's dividend payout ratio is currently -13.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GFL Environmental

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tobam grew its stake in GFL Environmental by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 3,079 shares of the company's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position 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 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 purchasing an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GFL Environmental in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings 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 worth $1,748,000 after buying an additional 784 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.70% of the company's stock.

GFL Environmental Company Profile

GFL Environmental Inc is an environmental services company that provides waste management and infrastructure services to residential, commercial, industrial, municipal and institutional customers. Its operations include the collection, transfer, processing, recycling and disposal of solid waste, as well as the management of organic materials and other waste streams.

The company also provides environmental and infrastructure-related services, including soil remediation, dewatering, excavation, demolition and other site services.

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