Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

CLH has been the topic of several other reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Clean Harbors from $337.00 to $364.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group upgraded Clean Harbors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Clean Harbors in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 target price on Clean Harbors in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Clean Harbors from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clean Harbors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.29.

Clean Harbors Stock Down 0.2%

CLH stock opened at $295.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.87. Clean Harbors has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $335.94. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $315.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $298.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.67. The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. Clean Harbors had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 18.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Clean Harbors will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clean Harbors

In related news, CEO Eric W. Gerstenberg sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.34, for a total transaction of $803,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 56,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,249,862.62. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karyn Polito acquired 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $314.83 per share, with a total value of $39,353.75. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,338,657.16. This represents a 3.03% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clean Harbors

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CLH. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clean Harbors by 59.9% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 10.9% in the third quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 926 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 13.6% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Clean Harbors by 2.4% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,712 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,152,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Clean Harbors by 5.7% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 90.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clean Harbors News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Clean Harbors this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $379 from $378 and maintained a Buy rating, implying substantial upside from the roughly $295 share price cited in the report. Citigroup rating and price target
• Positive Sentiment: Director Karyn Polito bought 125 shares for about $39,354, increasing her stake by 3.03%. The purchase may be viewed as a modest vote of confidence from an insider. Insider purchase report
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage pointed to strong growth ahead. Clean Harbors’ latest quarter also provides a favorable backdrop: EPS of $3.93 and revenue of $1.87 billion both topped expectations, while revenue grew 20.7% year over year. Earnings call and growth outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Another report cited a raised price target of $338, showing that analyst expectations vary, though the overall analyst consensus in the supplied coverage remained “Moderate Buy.” Price target report

About Clean Harbors

Clean Harbors, Inc provides environmental, energy and industrial services to customers across North America. The company serves a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, government, utilities, energy and transportation, helping customers manage hazardous and non-hazardous materials, maintain industrial facilities and respond to environmental emergencies.

Its services include hazardous waste collection, transportation, treatment and disposal; incineration; recycling and waste-to-fuel programs; wastewater treatment; and used-oil collection and re-refining.