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

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) 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

NYSE:LH traded up $10.17 on Thursday, reaching $230.07. 1,610,091 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 668,219. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.14. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $239.50. The firm has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a PE ratio of 46.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on LH. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $235.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $249.00 to $234.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.85.

Insider Activity 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 transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at $3,647,501.10. 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 the SEC website. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was 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 directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

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.