Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

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

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 target price on shares of Clean Harbors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Clean Harbors from $280.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Clean Harbors from $285.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Clean Harbors from $290.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Clean Harbors from $256.00 to $254.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $260.40.

Clean Harbors Price Performance

CLH stock opened at $200.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $206.23 and its 200-day moving average is $231.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98 and a beta of 1.11. Clean Harbors has a 1 year low of $178.29 and a 1 year high of $267.11.

Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $1.55 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Clean Harbors will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Clean Harbors

In related news, CFO Eric J. Dugas acquired 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $191.38 per share, for a total transaction of $200,949.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,638,668.44. This trade represents a 4.53 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lauren States sold 308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $2,726,719.22. This represents a 2.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,341 shares of company stock valued at $663,041. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLH. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Clean Harbors by 72.6% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,658,128 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $381,602,000 after purchasing an additional 697,630 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Clean Harbors in the fourth quarter worth $136,974,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Clean Harbors by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,044,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $930,707,000 after buying an additional 592,341 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Clean Harbors in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,956,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Clean Harbors by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 369,941 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $85,138,000 after acquiring an additional 117,718 shares during the period. 90.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.