Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Updates 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 14.450-15.350 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share 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.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $198.40. 931,317 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 745,511. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $174.20 and a 12 month high of $234.09. The firm has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a PE ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $211.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $214.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Friday, February 9th. They issued an in-line rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued an outperform rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a buy 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $243.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total value of $53,668.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total transaction of $7,451,828.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,095,812.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059 in the last three months. 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).