How to buy Laboratory Corporation of America stock (LH)

Laboratory Corporation of America is a diagnostics & research business based in the US. Laboratory Corporation of America shares (LH) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Its last market close was $226.31 – a decrease of 2.39% over the previous week. Laboratory Corporation of America employs 67,000 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around $12.7 billion.

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Laboratory Corporation of America stock price (NYSE: LH)

Use our graph to track the performance of LH stocks over time.

Laboratory Corporation of America shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2024-12-19.

Latest market close	$226.31
52-week range	$190.80 - $247.25
50-day moving average more info button	$230.83
200-day moving average more info button	$216.80
Wall St. target price	$262.88
PE ratio more info button	42.9431
Dividend yield more info button	$2.88 (1.27%)
Earnings per share (TTM) more info button	$5.27

Is it a good time to buy Laboratory Corporation of America stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.

Laboratory Corporation of America price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $230.95 from 2024-12-17

1 week (2024-12-12)	-0.38%
1 month (2024-11-20)	-2.90%
3 months (2024-09-19)	2.83%
6 months (2024-06-18)	11.84%

1 year (2023-12-19)	3.08%
2 years (2022-12-19)	20.50%
3 years (2021-12-17)	255.4961
5 years (2019-12-19)	64.60%

Is Laboratory Corporation of America stock undervalued or overvalued?

Valuing Laboratory Corporation of America stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Laboratory Corporation of America's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

Laboratory Corporation of America's P/E ratio

Laboratory Corporation of America's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 43x. In other words, Laboratory Corporation of America shares trade at around 43x recent earnings.

That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.

Laboratory Corporation of America's PEG ratio

Laboratory Corporation of America's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 0.4841. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Laboratory Corporation of America's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

Laboratory Corporation of America's EBITDA

Laboratory Corporation of America's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is $1.7 billion.

The EBITDA is a measure of a Laboratory Corporation of America's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

Laboratory Corporation of America financials

Revenue TTM	$12.7 billion
Operating margin TTM	8.29%
Gross profit TTM	$4.4 billion
Return on assets TTM	3.96%
Return on equity TTM	5.43%
Profit margin	3.43%
Book value	$97.61
Market Capitalization more info button	$18.9 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Laboratory Corporation of America's environmental, social and governance track record

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Laboratory Corporation of America.

When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.

Laboratory Corporation of America's total ESG risk score

Total ESG risk: 19.26

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Laboratory Corporation of America's overall score of 19.26 (as at 12/31/2018) is excellent – landing it in it in the 15th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Laboratory Corporation of America is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

Laboratory Corporation of America's environmental score

Environmental score: 4.17/100

Laboratory Corporation of America's environmental score of 4.17 puts it squarely in the 7th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Laboratory Corporation of America is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Laboratory Corporation of America's social score

Social score: 11.07/100

Laboratory Corporation of America's social score of 11.07 puts it squarely in the 7th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Laboratory Corporation of America is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

Laboratory Corporation of America's governance score

Governance score: 13.02/100

Laboratory Corporation of America's governance score puts it squarely in the 7th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Laboratory Corporation of America is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Laboratory Corporation of America's controversy score

Controversy score: 2/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Laboratory Corporation of America scored a 2 out of 5 for controversy – the second-highest score possible, reflecting that Laboratory Corporation of America has, for the most part, managed to keep its nose clean.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.

Total ESG score	19.26
Total ESG percentile	14.56
Environmental score	4.17
Environmental score percentile	7
Social score	11.07
Social score percentile	7
Governance score	13.02
Governance score percentile	7
Level of controversy	2

Laboratory Corporation of America share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 19.97% of net profits

Recently Laboratory Corporation of America has paid out, on average, around 0% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 0% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), Laboratory Corporation of America shareholders could enjoy a 0% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Laboratory Corporation of America's case, that would currently equate to about $2.88 per share.

While Laboratory Corporation of America's payout ratio might seem low, this can signify that Laboratory Corporation of America is investing more in its future growth.

Laboratory Corporation of America's most recent dividend payout was on 12 December 2024. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 25 November 2024 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have Laboratory Corporation of America's shares ever split?

Laboratory Corporation of America's shares were split on a 1164:1000 basis on 2 July 2023 . So if you had owned 1000 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 1164 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Laboratory Corporation of America shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 14.1% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Laboratory Corporation of America shares which in turn could have impacted Laboratory Corporation of America's share price.

Laboratory Corporation of America share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Laboratory Corporation of America's shares have ranged in value from as little as $190.7998 up to $247.2501. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Laboratory Corporation of America's is 1.036. This would suggest that Laboratory Corporation of America's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

Laboratory Corporation of America overview

Labcorp Holdings Inc. provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, 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). 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; specimen collection services; and drug development, medical device, and companion diagnostic development solutions, 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.

Frequently asked questions

What percentage of Laboratory Corporation of America is owned by insiders or institutions?
Currently 0.327% of Laboratory Corporation of America shares are held by insiders and 94.793% by institutions. How many people work for Laboratory Corporation of America?
Latest data suggests 67,000 work at Laboratory Corporation of America. When does the fiscal year end for Laboratory Corporation of America?
Laboratory Corporation of America's fiscal year ends in December. Where is Laboratory Corporation of America based?
Laboratory Corporation of America's address is: 358 South Main Street, Burlington, NC, United States, 27215 What is Laboratory Corporation of America's ISIN number?
Laboratory Corporation of America's international securities identification number is: US5049221055 What is Laboratory Corporation of America's CUSIP number?
Laboratory Corporation of America's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 50540R102