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

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

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of LH stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $198.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 931,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 745,511. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52-week low of $174.20 and a 52-week high of $234.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $211.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.01.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.46 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 3.52%. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs restated an outperform rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They issued an in-line rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Argus raised Laboratory Co. of America from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $243.14.

Insider Activity

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 value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of Laboratory Co. of America 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 directly owns 5,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,100,114.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the business’s 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 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company 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).