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 (EPS) guidance of 14.300-14.700 for the period, compared to the consensus 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 Trading Down 0.6 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $228.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.88. Laboratory Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $239.50. The stock has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.30, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $222.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.41.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.38 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,679 shares of company stock worth $6,946,306. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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.