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Reasons Why You Should Retain Clean Harbors Stock in Your Portfolio

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Key Takeaways

  • CLH shares gained 8.9% in a month, topping the industry's 3.7% rise. Q1 earnings are expected to grow 3.7%.
  • CLH benefits from industrial demand, strict environmental rules and rising corporate sustainability needs.
  • CLH expands via deals like HEPACO, Noble Oil Services and a $130M agreement with Depot Connect International.

Shares of Clean Harbors Inc. (CLH - Free Report) have had a decent run over the past month. The stock has gained 8.9%, outperforming the industry’s 3.7% growth.

The company’s first-quarter 2026 earnings are expected to increase 3.7% year over year. Earnings for 2026 and 2027 are projected to rise 10.3% and 10.9%, respectively, year over year. Revenues are expected to increase 3.5% in 2026 and 4.6% in 2027.

Factors That Bode Well for CLH

CLH’s revenue growth is driven by strong demand for industrial activity, stricter environmental regulations and rising corporate sustainability. The company leverages this growing demand by providing a broad range of services such as end-to-end hazardous waste management, emergency response, industrial cleaning and maintenance and recycling services across diverse markets.

Clean Harbors pursues growth through strategic acquisitions. The recent acquisition of HEPACO expanded the Environmental Services segment's field services business. The acquisition of Noble Oil Services and its subsidiaries expanded the SKSS segment's oil collection operations in the southeastern region of the United States. CLH announced the signing of a purchase and sale agreement to acquire environmental businesses from Depot Connect International for approximately $130 million.

CLH’s current ratio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025 was 2.33, higher than the industry’s average of 1. This showcases strong liquidity, indicating that the company is well-positioned to easily pay off its short-term obligations.

CLH creates value for shareholders in the form of share repurchases. The company repurchased shares worth $2.5 billion, $55.2 million, $51.1 million and $50.2 million in 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. This underlines the company’s confidence in its business and helps boost investors’ confidence in the stock.

A Risk

CLH does not offer quarterly cash dividends. This may discourage cash dividend-seeking investors, leaving them with a potential return only from share price appreciation. Since share price appreciation is variable, dividend-focused investors may hesitate to bet on it.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Clean Harbors currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here

A couple of better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are Coherent Corp. (COHR - Free Report)  and Deluxe  (DLX - Free Report) .

Coherent carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 29.9%.

COHR delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 7.7% on average.

Deluxe also has a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 12%.

DLX delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 15.6%.

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