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

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Saturday. The company provided EPS guidance of 14.300-14.900 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 14.820. The company issued revenue guidance of $12.9 billion-$13.1 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $12.8 billion.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $247.79.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 1.1 %

LH stock traded up $2.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $236.00. 1,194,681 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 600,207. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $238.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $205.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total transaction of $421,660.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,188,448.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).