GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on GFL Environmental in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on GFL Environmental from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on GFL Environmental from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings cut GFL Environmental from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut GFL Environmental from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.44.

GFL Environmental Stock Up 0.3%

GFL opened at $40.47 on Thursday. GFL Environmental has a fifty-two week low of $36.96 and a fifty-two week high of $52.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.37. The company has a market capitalization of $14.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.84.

GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.12. GFL Environmental had a net margin of 56.61% and a return on equity of 3.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.58) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that GFL Environmental will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

GFL Environmental Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.0169 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from GFL Environmental’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. GFL Environmental’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GFL Environmental

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of GFL Environmental by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,863,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $939,043,000 after buying an additional 3,267,936 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of GFL Environmental by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,201,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,125,000 after buying an additional 977,344 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of GFL Environmental by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,156,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,255,000 after buying an additional 97,020 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of GFL Environmental by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,511,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,595,000 after buying an additional 185,169 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,932,442 shares during the period. 64.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.