Should Value Investors Pick Laboratory Corporation (LH) Stock?

Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?

One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings LH stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:

PE Ratio

A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.

On this front, Laboratory Corporation has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 16.6, as you can see in the chart below:

This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 compares in at about 20.5. If we focus on the stock’s long-term PE trend, the current level puts Laboratory Corporation’s current PE ratio slightly above its midpoint (which is 15.3) over the past five years.

Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the industry’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 19.5. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

We should also point out that Laboratory Corporation has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 15.7, so it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for Laboratory Corporation’s stock in the near term too.  

P/S Ratio

Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.

Right now, Laboratory Corporation has a P/S ratio of about 1.6. This is substantially lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.2 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is slightly below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.

If anything, this suggests some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, Laboratory Corporation currently has a Value Style Score of A, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes LH a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.

For example, the PEG ratio for Laboratory Corporation is just 1.7, a level that is noticeably lower than the industry average of 2.2. The PEG ratio is a modified PE ratio that takes into account the stock’s earnings growth rate. Additionally, its P/CF ratio (another great indicator of value) comes in at 10.9, which is somewhat better than the industry average of 12.8. Clearly, LH is a solid choice on the value front from multiple angles.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Laboratory Corporation might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth grade of B and a Momentum score of B. This gives LH a VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been mixed at best. The current quarter has seen three estimates go higher in the past sixty days and four lower, while the full year estimate has seen ten upward and two downward revisions in the same time period.

This has had a noticeable impact on the consensus estimate, as the current quarter consensus estimate has fallen about 1.2% in the past two months, while the full year estimate has inched up 0.2%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Price and Consensus

 

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Price and Consensus | Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Quote

This somewhat mixed trend is why the stock has just a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

Laboratory Corporation is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. However, with a sluggish industry rank (bottom 32% out of more than 250 industries) and a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about this company overall. In fact, over the past one year, the sector has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:

So, value investors might want to wait for estimates, analyst sentiment and broader factors to turn favorable in this name first, but once that happen, this stock could be a compelling pick.

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