Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 905,338 shares, a decrease of 14.3% from the February 26th total of 1,056,774 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 512,172 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Clean Harbors Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE CLH opened at $289.98 on Thursday. Clean Harbors has a 12 month low of $178.29 and a 12 month high of $298.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $278.34 and a 200-day moving average of $249.05. The company has a market cap of $15.34 billion, a PE ratio of 39.83 and a beta of 0.93.

Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.03. Clean Harbors had a net margin of 6.48% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Clean Harbors will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Clean Harbors

In other Clean Harbors news, Director Marcy L. Reed sold 836 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.94, for a total value of $240,717.84. Following the sale, the director owned 5,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,463,023.14. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sharon M. Gabriel sold 3,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.07, for a total value of $998,527.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,542,049.51. This trade represents a 13.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 13,597 shares of company stock valued at $3,895,286 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Clean Harbors during the fourth quarter worth about $152,195,000. Durable Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in Clean Harbors in the third quarter valued at approximately $133,217,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 120.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,040,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $246,725,000 after buying an additional 569,388 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Clean Harbors by 148.3% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 384,494 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $89,287,000 after acquiring an additional 229,666 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Clean Harbors by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,376,088 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $557,146,000 after acquiring an additional 215,659 shares during the period. 90.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on CLH shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Clean Harbors from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Clean Harbors from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. CJS Securities raised shares of Clean Harbors to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Clean Harbors in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Clean Harbors from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $299.27.

About Clean Harbors

Clean Harbors, Inc is a leading provider of environmental, energy and industrial services in North America. The company specializes in the collection, transportation and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes, emergency spill response and remediation, industrial cleaning and on-site field services. Its comprehensive service offering also includes chemical neutralization, drum crushing, high-pressure water blasting, tank cleaning and vacuum services designed to help customers meet stringent environmental regulations.

Founded in 1980 by Alan S.