Yahoo Finance Is Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Potentially Undervalued?
Let's talk about the popular Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (NYSE:LH). The company's shares saw significant share price movement during recent months on the NYSE, rising to highs of US$256 and falling to the lows of US$213. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings' current trading price of US$213 reflective of the actual value of the large-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.
See our latest analysis for Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings
What Is Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Worth?
The share price seems sensible at the moment according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. In this instance, I’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. I find that Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings’s ratio of 18.9x is trading slightly below its industry peers’ ratio of 21.49x, which means if you buy Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings today, you’d be paying a reasonable price for it. And if you believe Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings should be trading in this range, then there isn’t much room for the share price to grow beyond the levels of other industry peers over the long-term. Is there another opportunity to buy low in the future? Since Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings’s share price is quite volatile, we could potentially see it sink lower (or rise higher) in the future, giving us another chance to buy. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market.
What kind of growth will Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings generate?
Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let’s also take a look at the company's future expectations. With profit expected to grow by 52% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.
What This Means For You
Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in LH’s positive outlook, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at LH? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio?
Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on LH, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the optimistic forecast is encouraging for LH, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.
In light of this, if you'd like to do more analysis on the company, it's vital to be informed of the risks involved. You'd be interested to know, that we found 3 warning signs for Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings and you'll want to know about these.
If you are no longer interested in Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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