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

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 14.300-14.700 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 14.560. The company issued revenue guidance of $13.0 billion-$13.1 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $13.0 billion.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock traded down $1.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $228.63. 819,212 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 668,948. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.39. The firm has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a PE ratio of 43.30, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $239.50.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.38 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.55 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 Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on LH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.54.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,450. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,679 shares of company stock worth $6,946,306 over the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Labcorp Holdings Inc provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.