Yahoo Finance Are Robust Financials Driving The Recent Rally In Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings' (NYSE:LH) Stock?
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings' (NYSE:LH) stock is up by a considerable 12% over the past three months. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings' ROE today.
Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.
View our latest analysis for Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings
How To Calculate Return On Equity?
Return on equity can be calculated by using the formula:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings is:
17% = US$1.8b ÷ US$10b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).
The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.17.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?
So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings' Earnings Growth And 17% ROE
At first glance, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings seems to have a decent ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 13% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. This probably laid the ground for Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings' significant 22% net income growth seen over the past five years. However, there could also be other causes behind this growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.
As a next step, we compared Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings' net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 16%.
Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Has the market priced in the future outlook for LH? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Is Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings has a really low three-year median payout ratio of 5.5%, meaning that it has the remaining 94% left over to reinvest into its business. So it looks like Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business, which shows in its earnings growth.
While Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings has been growing its earnings, it only recently started to pay dividends which likely means that the company decided to impress new and existing shareholders with a dividend. Looking at the current analyst consensus data, we can see that the company's future payout ratio is expected to rise to 11% over the next three years. However, the company's ROE is not expected to change by much despite the higher expected payout ratio.
Conclusion
Overall, we are quite pleased with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings' performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable growth in its earnings. With that said, on studying the latest analyst forecasts, we found that while the company has seen growth in its past earnings, analysts expect its future earnings to shrink. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.
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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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