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

Shares of Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CLH. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Clean Harbors from $235.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Clean Harbors from $252.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Clean Harbors from $242.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Clean Harbors from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $275.00 target price (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Clean Harbors in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clean Harbors currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $250.89.

Clean Harbors Stock Down 10.7 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $246.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.98. The company has a market cap of $12.69 billion, a PE ratio of 34.04 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.25. Clean Harbors had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 17.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Clean Harbors, Inc. will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Clean Harbors news, Director Lauren States sold 309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.09, for a total transaction of $75,423.81. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,458 shares in the company, valued at $3,284,963.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Michael Louis Battles sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,136 shares in the company, valued at $18,955,400.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lauren States sold 309 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.09, for a total value of $75,423.81. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,284,963.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,617 shares of company stock valued at $2,613,132 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clean Harbors

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CLH. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Clean Harbors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Clean Harbors by 63.4% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of Clean Harbors during the second quarter valued at approximately $56,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in Clean Harbors by 161.6% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 259 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Clean Harbors by 117.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 320 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.43% of the company's stock.

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.