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

Shares of Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $263.39, but opened at $235.00. Clean Harbors shares last traded at $231.69, with a volume of 243,316 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CLH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Clean Harbors from $242.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Clean Harbors from $252.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Clean Harbors from $235.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Clean Harbors from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Clean Harbors from $223.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.89.

Clean Harbors Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $12.93 billion, a PE ratio of 38.09 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $247.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. Clean Harbors had a return on equity of 17.12% and a net margin of 6.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Clean Harbors, Inc. will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lauren States sold 308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.74, for a total value of $80,307.92. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,428,731. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Clean Harbors news, CEO Michael Louis Battles sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.74, for a total transaction of $2,457,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 77,136 shares in the company, valued at $18,955,400.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lauren States sold 308 shares of Clean Harbors stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.74, for a total value of $80,307.92. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,428,731. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,617 shares of company stock valued at $2,613,132. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Clean Harbors

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CLH. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Clean Harbors by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 4,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in Clean Harbors by 6.9% in the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Clean Harbors by 10.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 528 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Clean Harbors by 1.1% in the second quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 4,734 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,071,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Clean Harbors by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 491 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.43% of the company’s stock.

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.