Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) Coverage Initiated at Barclays

Key Points

• Analysts at Barclays have initiated coverage of Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) with an "equal weight" rating and a price target of $253.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.59% from its current price.
• Clean Harbors reported quarterly earnings of $2.36 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.03, although its revenue was down 0.2% year-over-year at $1.55 billion.
• Institutional ownership of Clean Harbors stock is significant, with hedge funds and institutions holding 90.43% of the shares, indicating strong investor confidence in the company.

Equities research analysts at Barclays began coverage on shares of Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set an "equal weight" rating and a $253.00 price target on the business services provider's stock. Barclays's price objective indicates a potential upside of 7.60% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CLH. UBS Group boosted their target price on Clean Harbors from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets set a $268.00 target price on Clean Harbors and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Clean Harbors from $278.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Clean Harbors from $254.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $262.45.

Clean Harbors Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:CLH traded down $1.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $235.14. 48,656 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 409,933. The stock has a market cap of $12.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.06 and a beta of 1.22. Clean Harbors has a fifty-two week low of $178.29 and a fifty-two week high of $267.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $238.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Clean Harbors had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 6.48%.The business's quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Clean Harbors will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Andrea Robertson sold 836 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.64, for a total value of $195,323.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,310,232.32. This represents a 7.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Louis Battles purchased 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $233.50 per share, with a total value of $467,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 82,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,359,718.50. This trade represents a 2.47% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clean Harbors

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Clean Harbors by 22.8% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 232 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Clean Harbors by 0.3% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 15,726 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,636,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in Clean Harbors by 6.1% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 839 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Clean Harbors by 0.5% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,372 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Clean Harbors by 2.3% in the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,378 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 90.43% of the stock is currently owned by 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.