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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LH. TheStreet downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. SVB Leerink began coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an outperform rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Argus upgraded 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 report on Monday, March 25th. Leerink Partnrs restated an outperform rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $242.44.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of LH stock traded up $0.05 on Friday, hitting $198.40. The company had a trading volume of 931,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 758,681. The firm has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $212.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.17. Laboratory Co. of America has a twelve month low of $174.20 and a twelve month high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.46 by $0.22. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total transaction of $760,515.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $863,727.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at $732,881.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total value of $760,515.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,727.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059 over the last 90 days. Company 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).