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

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

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $207.94 on Thursday. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52 week low of $174.20 and a 52 week high of $234.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a PE ratio of 44.53, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $212.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.80.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.01. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.84 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 Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LH shares. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an equal weight rating and a $222.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They set an in-line rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. SVB Leerink initiated 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. TheStreet downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reissued an outperform rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $243.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $49,588.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at $842,998.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total value of $7,451,828.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,095,812.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $49,588.15. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $842,998.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).