Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $314.00.

CLH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Clean Harbors from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Clean Harbors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Clean Harbors from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Clean Harbors in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Clean Harbors in a research report on Monday, February 23rd.

Clean Harbors Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of CLH opened at $304.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $16.21 billion, a PE ratio of 41.76 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $288.51 and a 200 day moving average of $255.28. Clean Harbors has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $316.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Clean Harbors had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 6.48%.Clean Harbors’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Clean Harbors will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clean Harbors

In other news, CFO Eric J. Dugas sold 2,788 shares of Clean Harbors stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.31, for a total transaction of $784,292.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,482,112.23. This trade represents a 14.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Sharon M. Gabriel sold 3,540 shares of Clean Harbors stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.07, for a total value of $998,527.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,542,049.51. This trade represents a 13.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,597 shares of company stock valued at $3,895,286. 5.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Clean Harbors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clean Harbors by 2.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Clean Harbors in the first quarter valued at about $28,444,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Clean Harbors by 4.2% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 386,540 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $110,833,000 after acquiring an additional 15,665 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Clean Harbors in the first quarter valued at about $656,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clean Harbors by 152.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,975,000 after acquiring an additional 7,667 shares in the last quarter. 90.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Clean Harbors Company Profile

Clean Harbors, Inc is a leading provider of environmental, energy and industrial services in North America. The company specializes in the collection, transportation and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes, emergency spill response and remediation, industrial cleaning and on-site field services. Its comprehensive service offering also includes chemical neutralization, drum crushing, high-pressure water blasting, tank cleaning and vacuum services designed to help customers meet stringent environmental regulations.

Founded in 1980 by Alan S.