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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Argus raised Laboratory Co. of America from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Friday, February 9th. They set an in-line rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set an outperform rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Barclays initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an equal weight rating and a $222.00 target price for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE LH traded down $9.59 during trading on Thursday, hitting $198.35. 2,097,329 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 756,519. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a PE ratio of 42.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. Laboratory Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $174.20 and a fifty-two week high of $234.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $212.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.69.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 61.67%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total value of $107,745.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,881.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the 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 worth $11,761,059 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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).