Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Purchases 130,000 Shares of Clean Harbors, Inc. $CLH

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Clean Harbors, acquiring 130,000 shares during the first quarter, raising its ownership to approximately 0.42% of the company valued at $44.74 million.
• Clean Harbors reported quarterly earnings of $2.36 per share, which exceeded analysts' expectations, although its revenue of $1.55 billion was slightly below the forecasted $1.59 billion.
• Equities research analysts have upped their price targets for Clean Harbors, with a consensus target now at $263.40, reflecting a generally optimistic outlook on the stock's performance.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH - Free Report) by 134.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 227,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 130,000 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.42% of Clean Harbors worth $44,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CLH. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in Clean Harbors during the first quarter worth about $6,033,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Clean Harbors in the 1st quarter valued at about $11,223,000. Alamea Verwaltungs GmbH bought a new position in shares of Clean Harbors during the first quarter worth approximately $554,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Clean Harbors during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Night Squared LP bought a new stake in shares of Clean Harbors during the first quarter worth $5,439,000. 90.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Clean Harbors news, 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 value of $689,460.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 54,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,391,669.16. The trade was a 5.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Louis Battles bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $233.50 per share, for a total transaction of $467,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 82,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,359,718.50. The trade was 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.

Clean Harbors Stock Performance

NYSE:CLH traded up $2.19 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $238.44. The stock had a trading volume of 539,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,698. The stock has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Clean Harbors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $178.29 and a 12-month high of $267.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $221.46.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CLH. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Clean Harbors from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Clean Harbors from $254.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets set a $268.00 target price on shares of Clean Harbors and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Clean Harbors from $278.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $263.40.

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.