Clean Harbors Inc (NYSE:CLH) has seen a decrease in hedge fund sentiment in recent months.
In the financial world, there are plenty of gauges shareholders can use to watch Mr. Market. A pair of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a significant margin (see just how much).
Equally as integral, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the marketplace. Obviously, there are plenty of reasons for an insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Many academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).
Consequently, we’re going to take a gander at the key action encompassing Clean Harbors Inc (NYSE:CLH).
What have hedge funds been doing with Clean Harbors Inc (NYSE:CLH)?
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 17 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -11% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group had the biggest position in Clean Harbors Inc (NYSE:CLH), worth close to $56.5 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Sanford J. Colen of Apex Capital, with a $41.8 million position; 3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and James A. Noonan’s Pivot Point Capital.
Since Clean Harbors Inc (NYSE:CLH) has experienced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of hedgies who sold off their entire stakes last quarter. Interestingly, Ian Simm’s Impax Asset Management cut the biggest stake of all the hedgies we monitor, valued at an estimated $30.7 million in stock.. Alexander Mitchell’s fund, Scopus Asset Management, also said goodbye to its stock, about $16.2 million worth. These moves are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds last quarter.
What have insiders been doing with Clean Harbors Inc (NYSE:CLH)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is most useful when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, Clean Harbors Inc (NYSE:CLH) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Clean Harbors Inc (NYSE:CLH). These stocks are Veolia Environnement SA (ADR) (NYSE:VE), Darling International Inc. (NYSE:DAR), Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd (USA) (NYSE:BIN), Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE:CVA), and Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN). All of these stocks are in the waste management industry and their market caps are closest to CLH’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Veolia Environnement SA (ADR) (NYSE:VE) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Darling International Inc. (NYSE:DAR) | 16 | 0 | 1 |
| Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd (USA) (NYSE:BIN) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE:CVA) | 19 | 0 | 4 |
| Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) | 12 | 0 | 12 |
With the returns demonstrated by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, retail investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Clean Harbors Inc (NYSE:CLH) is no exception.
