Labcorp (NYSE:LH) & Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) Head-To-Head Survey

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) and Labcorp (NYSE:LH) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

95.9% of Labcorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of Surgery Partners shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Labcorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Surgery Partners and Labcorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Surgery Partners	$3.31 billion	0.54	-$77.90 million	($0.70)	-19.50
Labcorp	$13.95 billion	1.88	$876.50 million	$12.09	26.76

Labcorp has higher revenue and earnings than Surgery Partners. Surgery Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Labcorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Surgery Partners and Labcorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Surgery Partners	-2.63%	0.88%	0.34%
Labcorp	6.99%	16.74%	7.81%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Surgery Partners and Labcorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Surgery Partners	1	3	7	0	2.55
Labcorp	0	3	9	0	2.75

Surgery Partners currently has a consensus target price of $19.00, suggesting a potential upside of 39.19%. Labcorp has a consensus target price of $336.36, suggesting a potential upside of 3.95%. Given Surgery Partners’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Surgery Partners is more favorable than Labcorp.

Risk & Volatility

Surgery Partners has a beta of 1.92, meaning that its stock price is 92% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Labcorp has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Labcorp beats Surgery Partners on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Surgery Partners

Surgery Partners, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates a network of surgical facilities and ancillary services in the United States. The company provides ambulatory surgery centers and surgical hospitals that offer non-emergency surgical procedures in various specialties, including orthopedics and pain management, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, and general surgery. It offers diagnostic imaging, laboratory, obstetrics, oncology, pharmacy, physical therapy, and wound care; and ancillary services, including multi-specialty physician practices, urgent care facilities, and anesthesia services. In addition, it offers single- and multi-specialty facilities. Surgery Partners, Inc. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.

About Labcorp

Labcorp Holdings, Inc. engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.