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. Laboratory Co. of America also updated its FY24 guidance to $14.45-15.35 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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 on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Argus upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 25th. TheStreet lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs restated an outperform rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:LH traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $198.40. 931,317 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 745,511. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.66. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52 week low of $174.20 and a 52 week high of $234.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.69 billion, a P/E 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.46 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 3.52%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total transaction of $57,513.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,695,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total value of $7,451,828.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,095,812.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total value of $57,513.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,872.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $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).