Laboratory Co. of America (LH) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS). The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid tests, PAP tests, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, tests for sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C tests, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests. It also provides specialty testing services comprising gene-based and esoteric testing; advanced tests target specific diseases; services related to anatomic pathology/oncology, cardiovascular disease, coagulation, diagnostic genetics, endocrinology, infectious disease, women's health, pharmacogenetics, parentage and donor testing, occupational testing services, medical drug monitoring services, chronic disease programs, and kidney stone prevention tests; and health and wellness services to employers and managed care organizations (MCOs), including health fairs, on-site and at-home testing, vaccinations, and health screenings. In addition, the company offers online and mobile applications that enable patients to check test results; online applications for providers, MCOs, and accountable care organizations; and drug development, medical device, and companion diagnostic development solutions from early-stage research to clinical development, as well as support for crop protection and chemical testing. It serves pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and diagnostics companies; and MCOs, employer plans, other health insurance providers, governmental agencies, physicians and other healthcare providers, hospitals and health systems, employers, patients and consumers, contract research organizations, crop protection and chemical companies, academic institutions, independent clinical laboratories, and retailers. The company was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Burlington, North Carolina.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $220.31 to $224.18
• 50-Day Range: $206.17 to $236.00
• 52-Week Range: $191.97 to $238.46
• Volume: 894,322 shs
• Average Volume: 684,642 shs
• Market Capitalization: $18.73 billion
• P/E Ratio: 44.71
• Dividend Yield: 1.30%
• Price Target: $250.82
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Laboratory Co. of America scored higher than 99% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 7th out of 1,007 stocks in the medical sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 3.4 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Laboratory Co. of America has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.75, and is based on 9 buy ratings, 3 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Laboratory Co. of America has been the subject of 7 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 8.18%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Laboratory Co. of America are expected to grow by 8.18% in the coming year, from $14.67 to $15.87 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Laboratory Co. of America is 44.71, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 137.32.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Laboratory Co. of America is 44.71, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Medical sector average P/E ratio of about 143.28.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Laboratory Co. of America has a PEG Ratio of 1.68. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Laboratory Co. of America has a P/B Ratio of 2.40. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.98% of the float of Laboratory Co. of America has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Laboratory Co. of America has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.9, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Laboratory Co. of America has recently decreased by 0.60%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Yield

Laboratory Co. of America pays a meaningful dividend of 1.31%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Laboratory Co. of America does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Laboratory Co. of America is 57.95%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Laboratory Co. of America will have a dividend payout ratio of 18.15% next year. This indicates that Laboratory Co. of America will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Environmental Score: -0.66

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.98% of the float of Laboratory Co. of America has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Laboratory Co. of America has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.9, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Laboratory Co. of America has recently decreased by 0.60%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.1 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.56

News Sentiment

Laboratory Co. of America has a news sentiment score of 0.56. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This news sentiment score is similar to the average news sentiment of Medical companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 27 news articles for Laboratory Co. of America this week, compared to 8 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

7 people have searched for LH on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 17% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

6 people have added Laboratory Co. of America to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 100% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Laboratory Co. of America insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $6,716,306.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 0.85% of the stock of Laboratory Co. of America is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

95.94% of the stock of Laboratory Co. of America is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

LH Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have LH shares performed this year?

Laboratory Co. of America's stock was trading at $227.29 at the beginning of the year. Since then, LH stock has decreased by 2.2% and is now trading at $222.22.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here.

How were Laboratory Co. of America's earnings last quarter?

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August, 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year.
Read the conference call transcript.

Does Laboratory Co. of America have any subsidiaries?

Laboratory Co. of America subsidiaries include these companies: Clinical Outreach Laboratory Services, Personal Genome Diagnostics Inc., Toxikon Corporation, Myriad Autoimmune’s Vectra Testing Business, Ovia Health, Visiun, Envigo's nonclinical contract research services business, and others.

Who are Laboratory Co. of America's major shareholders?

Top institutional investors of Laboratory Co. of America include Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. (2.31%), Bank of New York Mellon Corp (1.91%), Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC (1.90%) and Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (1.68%). Insiders that own company stock include Glenn A Eisenberg, Lance Berberian, Kerrii B Anderson, Brian J Caveney, Paul R Kirchgraber, Mark S Schroeder, Amy B Summy, Der Vaart Sandra D Van, Jonathan P Divincenzo, Peter J Wilkinson, Peter M Neupert, R Sanders Williams and Dwight Gary Gilliland.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Laboratory Co. of America?

Shares of LH stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

What other stocks do shareholders of Laboratory Co. of America own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Laboratory Co. of America investors own include Gilead Sciences (GILD), Micron Technology (MU), Intel (INTC), Pfizer (PFE), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), NVIDIA (NVDA) and Abbott Laboratories (abt).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 8/01/2024
• Ex-Dividend for 9/13 Dividend: 8/29/2024
• Dividend Payable: 9/13/2024
• Today: 9/20/2024
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 10/24/2024
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2024

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Medical
• Industry: Medical laboratories
• Sub-Industry: Health Care Services
• Current Symbol: NYSE:LH
• Previous Symbol: NYSE:LH?
• CUSIP: 50540R40
• CIK: 920148
• Web: www.labcorp.com
• Phone: (336) 229-1127
• Fax: 336-513-4510
• Employees: 67,000
• Year Founded: 1995

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $251.27
• High Stock Price Target: $282.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $215.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +13.4%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.75
• Research Coverage: 12 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $4.97
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 44.50
• Forward P/E Ratio: 15.07
• P/E Growth: 1.68
• Net Income: $418 million
• Net Margins: 3.60%
• Pretax Margin: 5.26%
• Return on Equity: 15.39%
• Return on Assets: 7.30%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.39
• Current Ratio: 0.88
• Quick Ratio: 0.77

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $12.49 billion
• Price / Sales: 1.49
• Cash Flow: $20.59 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 10.74
• Book Value: $92.76 per share
• Price / Book: 2.38

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 84,300,000
• Free Float: 83,583,000
• Market Cap: $18.64 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.06