United Services Automobile Association Makes New Investment in Clean Harbors, Inc. $CLH

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE: CLH), purchasing 3,339 shares valued at approximately $658,000 in the first quarter of the year.
• Several hedge funds have increased their holdings, with institutional investors now owning 90.43% of the stock, indicating strong confidence in the company.
• BMO Capital Markets and other analysts have set price targets for CLH between $240.00 and $280.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $263.40.

United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,339 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $658,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLH. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Clean Harbors in the 1st quarter valued at about $480,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Clean Harbors by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 54,577 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,757,000 after buying an additional 5,884 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Clean Harbors by 47.7% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 607 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its stake in Clean Harbors by 7.9% during the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 2,740 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Clean Harbors in the first quarter worth $1,783,000. 90.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Andrea Robertson sold 836 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director owned 9,888 shares in the company, valued at $2,310,232.32. This represents a 7.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael Louis Battles bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $233.50 per share, with a total value of $467,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 82,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,359,718.50. This represents a 2.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Clean Harbors Stock Performance

CLH stock traded down $2.52 on Friday, reaching $235.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 242,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 298,746. Clean Harbors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $178.29 and a 52 week 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 company has a market capitalization of $12.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.14 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $237.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.13.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Clean Harbors, Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CLH shares. UBS Group raised their price target 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 raised their target price on shares of Clean Harbors from $254.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets set a $268.00 target price on Clean Harbors and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clean Harbors has a consensus 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.