Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Analysts 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.

Research analysts at Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm set an "equal weight" rating and a $253.00 price target on the business services provider's stock. Barclays's target price indicates a potential upside of 6.59% from the company's current price.

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

Clean Harbors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLH opened at $237.36 on Friday. Clean Harbors has a 1-year low of $178.29 and a 1-year high of $267.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $238.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.82. The company has a market capitalization of $12.73 billion, a PE ratio of 33.34 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Louis Battles bought 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $233.50 per share, with a total value of $467,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Andrea Robertson sold 836 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director directly owned 9,888 shares in the company, valued at $2,310,232.32. The trade was a 7.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CLH. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Clean Harbors by 30.9% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,293,796 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,043,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,704 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Clean Harbors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $147,632,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 127.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 899,566 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $177,304,000 after buying an additional 504,290 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clean Harbors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $95,115,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Clean Harbors by 36,389.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 362,892 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $71,526,000 after purchasing an additional 363,892 shares during the period. 90.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Clean Harbors

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.

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