Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Issues FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of 14.450-15.350 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 14.820. The company issued revenue guidance of $12.7 billion-$12.9 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $12.8 billion.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an outperform rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. TheStreet lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They set an in-line rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs restated an outperform rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $207.94 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.80. The company has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a PE ratio of 44.53, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12-month low of $174.20 and a 12-month high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.01. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 61.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $49,588.15. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,998.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total transaction of $7,451,828.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,095,812.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $49,588.15. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at $842,998.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059. Company 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).