Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys New Position in Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 80,000 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,768,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Clean Harbors at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC grew its position in Clean Harbors by 3.6% during the first quarter. 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC now owns 193,047 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,050,000 after buying an additional 6,730 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Capital Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Clean Harbors during the first quarter worth approximately $10,348,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Clean Harbors during the first quarter worth approximately $1,930,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Clean Harbors during the first quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake in Clean Harbors by 73.0% during the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 74,434 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $14,672,000 after purchasing an additional 31,418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clean Harbors

In related news, CEO Eric W. Gerstenberg sold 8,076 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.23, for a total transaction of $1,818,957.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,626,147.37. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian P. Weber sold 3,035 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $12,391,669.16. This represents a 5.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,112 shares of company stock worth $3,416,406 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Clean Harbors Price Performance

Shares of CLH traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $235.25. The stock had a trading volume of 73,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 422,669. Clean Harbors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $178.29 and a 12 month high of $267.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.62 billion, a PE ratio of 33.05 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.45. The company's 50-day moving average is $229.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.98.

Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during 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%. Clean Harbors's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. Research analysts expect that Clean Harbors, Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CLH. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Clean Harbors from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Clean Harbors from $254.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Clean Harbors from $268.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial upped 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Clean Harbors from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Clean Harbors has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.