GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE:GFL)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $37.48, but opened at $39.77. GFL Environmental shares last traded at $40.0770, with a volume of 1,288,093 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GFL. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of GFL Environmental from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of GFL Environmental in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on GFL Environmental from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of GFL Environmental in a report on Friday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded GFL Environmental from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.78.

GFL Environmental Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $14.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.45, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.53.

GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.01. GFL Environmental had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 4.53%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.09) EPS. GFL Environmental’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that GFL Environmental Inc. will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

GFL Environmental Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.0169 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. GFL Environmental’s payout ratio is 18.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GFL Environmental

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of GFL Environmental by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 357,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,950,000 after acquiring an additional 52,121 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in GFL Environmental by 40.8% during the 4th 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 during the period. Vestcor Inc raised its holdings in GFL Environmental by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 391,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,828,000 after acquiring an additional 80,000 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of GFL Environmental in the 4th quarter valued at $1,327,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in GFL Environmental by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,225,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,700,000 after buying an additional 131,332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.70% of the company’s stock.

About GFL Environmental

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.