Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Clean Harbors shares gapped down significantly, opening at $223.04 after closing at $238.29, and last traded at $231.39 with a volume of 154,769 shares.
• Analyst ratings show a mixed outlook, with Needham & Company lowering its price target to $255 while others revised prices downwards, indicating varied confidence in the stock's performance.
• The company reported earnings of $2.36 EPS for the last quarter, slightly exceeding expectations, but its quarterly revenue fell by 0.2% year-over-year.

Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $238.29, but opened at $223.04. Clean Harbors shares last traded at $231.39, with a volume of 154,769 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on CLH shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Clean Harbors from $254.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Clean Harbors from $278.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Clean Harbors from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Clean Harbors from $268.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Clean Harbors from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $263.40.

Clean Harbors Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.89 and a beta of 1.18. The company's 50-day moving average is $229.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robert Speights sold 1,022 shares of Clean Harbors stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $233,516.78. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,726,671.90. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian P. Weber sold 3,035 shares of Clean Harbors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.17, for a total transaction of $689,460.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 54,548 shares in the company, valued at $12,391,669.16. This represents a 5.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,112 shares of company stock worth $3,416,406 in the last 90 days. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clean Harbors

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Clean Harbors by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 4,634 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 16.2% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 18.6% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,793 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Clean Harbors in the first quarter worth approximately $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.43% of the company's stock.

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.