Short Interest in GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE:GFL) Grows By 12.2%

GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE:GFL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,120,000 shares, a growth of 12.2% from the September 30th total of 7,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.9 days. Currently, 3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

GFL Environmental Price Performance

Shares of GFL traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $41.85. 1,350,148 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,214,232. GFL Environmental has a one year low of $26.87 and a one year high of $43.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.78 and a 200 day moving average of $37.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.90 and a beta of 1.16.

GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. GFL Environmental had a negative net margin of 8.78% and a positive return on equity of 3.32%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that GFL Environmental will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GFL Environmental Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.014 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.13%. GFL Environmental’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -3.33%.

Institutional Trading of GFL Environmental

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GFL. Tobam bought a new position in GFL Environmental in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in GFL Environmental in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in GFL Environmental by 325.0% in the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in GFL Environmental by 51.1% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spartan Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in GFL Environmental in the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 64.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GFL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of GFL Environmental in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of GFL Environmental from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of GFL Environmental from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of GFL Environmental from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.56.

GFL Environmental Company Profile

GFL Environmental Inc offers non-hazardous solid waste management and environmental services in Canada and the United States. It offers solid waste management, liquid waste management, and soil remediation services, including collection, transportation, transfer, recycling, and disposal services for municipal, residential, and commercial, and industrial customers.