Hancock Whitney Corp Trims Stake in Clean Harbors, Inc. $CLH

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its stake in Clean Harbors, Inc. by 15.2%, selling 1,852 shares and now holding 10,297 shares valued at approximately $2,030,000.
• Wall Street analysts have set a consensus price target of $263.40 for Clean Harbors, with ratings including one Strong Buy, seven Buy, and two Hold.
• Clean Harbors reported quarterly earnings of $2.36 per share, slightly beating analysts' expectations, despite a revenue decline of 0.2% year-over-year.

Hancock Whitney Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH - Free Report) by 15.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,297 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,852 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Clean Harbors were worth $2,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CLH. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Clean Harbors in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Clean Harbors during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Clean Harbors during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Clean Harbors by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in Clean Harbors by 42.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 284 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brian P. Weber sold 3,035 shares of Clean Harbors stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 54,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,391,669.16. This trade represents a 5.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Louis Battles bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was purchased 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Clean Harbors Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of CLH stock traded down $3.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $233.27. The company had a trading volume of 111,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,152. Clean Harbors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $178.29 and a 12 month 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 simple moving average of $237.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.70. The company has a market cap of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on CLH shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Clean Harbors from $254.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research 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 research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on Clean Harbors from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Clean Harbors from $278.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $263.40.

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.