Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH) provides a variety of environmental remediation and industrial waste management services. The business has high regulatory barriers to entry and roughly three fourths of revenues are recurring in nature. Clean Harbors came across our contrarian screens due to tough comparisons in its comparatively volatile event-driven business and a poorly timed oil recycling acquisition. While our investment thesis largely played out as these businesses have improved, the company has suffered due to significant declines in its oil and gas related businesses. We continue to hold Clean Harbors’ shares due to the defensive nature of its core business and an attractive valuation that ascribes little value to the most energy exposed areas. We expect earnings growth to resume late in 2016 and see this as a potential catalyst for the stock.
From Meridian Contrarian Fund Semi-Annual Shareholder Letter 2016.
