FY2024 Earnings Forecast for LH Issued By Leerink Partnrs

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) – Leerink Partnrs lowered their FY2024 earnings estimates for Laboratory Co. of America in a report issued on Monday, January 6th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now forecasts that the medical research company will post earnings of $14.53 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $14.59. The consensus estimate for Laboratory Co. of America’s current full-year earnings is $14.52 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Laboratory Co. of America’s Q1 2025 earnings at $3.84 EPS.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on LH. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price target (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.54.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $234.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $19.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.30, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.06. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $247.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.32.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 25,572 shares of company stock valued at $6,145,209. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LH. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 3,530 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 1,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.