StockNews.com Downgrades Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) to Hold

Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CLH. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $268.00 target price on shares of Clean Harbors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Clean Harbors from $284.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Clean Harbors from $256.00 to $254.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Clean Harbors from $285.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Clean Harbors from $250.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.40.

Clean Harbors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLH opened at $207.25 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93 and a beta of 1.11. Clean Harbors has a 52 week low of $178.29 and a 52 week high of $267.11.

Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.19. Clean Harbors had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 6.83%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Clean Harbors will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Clean Harbors news, Director Lauren States sold 308 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.79, for a total transaction of $70,467.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,726,719.22. This represents a 2.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Speights sold 2,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.44, for a total transaction of $518,949.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 40,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,619,123.52. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLH. Traynor Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Clean Harbors by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Clean Harbors by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC now owns 3,727 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $858,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Clean Harbors by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 619 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Clean Harbors by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 90.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clean Harbors Company Profile

Clean Harbors, Inc provides environmental and industrial services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Environmental Services and Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions. The Environmental Services segment collects, transports, treats, and disposes hazardous and non-hazardous waste, such as resource recovery, physical treatment, fuel blending, incineration, landfill disposal, wastewater treatment, lab chemicals disposal, and explosives management services; and offers CleanPack services, including collection, identification, categorization, specialized packaging, transportation, and disposal of laboratory chemicals and household hazardous waste.