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Clean Harbors, Inc. CLH has had an impressive run over the past year. The stock has gained 47%, significantly outperforming the 18% rise of the industry it belongs to and the 24% rally of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.

Reasons for the Upside

Clean Harbors has an impressive earnings surprise history. The company’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, delivering an average surprise of 3.2%.

Being a leading provider of environmental and industrial services, CLH continues to benefit from ongoing trends like increasing environmental concerns, rapid industrialization, increase in population and active government measures to reduce illegal dumping. The company’s Environmental Services revenues grew 5.5% year over year in the third quarter of 2023, driven by higher volumes of high-value waste streams, pricing initiatives and strength in its industrial services businesses.

Clean Harbors, Inc. Price

Clean Harbors continues to make capital investments to enhance its quality and comply with government and local regulations. The current regulatory requirements are cost-intensive and complicated for in-house disposal facilities, which, in turn, compel most companies to outsource their hazardous waste disposal needs. This is where Clean Harbors steps in with its suitable disposal firms in Canada and the United States.

The company has a diversified customer base, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to midsize and small public and private entities, which provides it with stable and recurring sources of revenue. It has been chosen as an authorized vendor by large and small generators of waste as it has comprehensive waste disposal and waste tracking capabilities.

Clean Harbors has a consistent track record of share repurchases. In 2022, 2021 and 2020, the company repurchased shares worth $50.2 million, $54.4 million and $74.8 million, respectively. These initiatives not only instill investors’ confidence but also positively impact earnings per share.

Zacks Rank and Other Stocks to Consider

Clean Harbors currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Here are some other top-ranked stocks from the broader Business Service sector.

Rollins ROL currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. For the fourth quarter of 2023, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 20 cents, indicating year-over-year growth of 17.7%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

ROL has an impressive earnings surprise history, beating the consensus mark in three of the four trailing quarters and matching once, the average surprise being 7.2%.

FTI Consulting FCN also carries a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. The consensus mark for fourth-quarter 2023 earnings is pegged at $1.57 per share, indicating 3.3% year-over-year growth.

FCN has an impressive earnings surprise history, beating the consensus mark in three of the four trailing quarters and missing once, the average surprise being 8.5%.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.