Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $14.45-15.35 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.84. Laboratory Co. of America also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 14.450-15.350 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LH. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Leerink Partnrs restated an outperform rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set an outperform rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.0 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $198.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $174.20 and a 12 month high of $234.09. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $211.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.75. The firm has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a PE ratio of 39.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.01.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.46 by $0.22. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 3.52%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.82 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total transaction of $107,745.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,881.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $1,102,735.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,100,114.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total value of $107,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,881.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).