William Blair Issues Negative Outlook for LH Earnings

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) – Investment analysts at William Blair reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note issued on Monday, February 10th. William Blair analyst A. Brackmann now anticipates that the medical research company will post earnings per share of $3.57 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $3.69. The consensus estimate for Laboratory Co. of America’s current full-year earnings is $15.96 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Laboratory Co. of America’s Q3 2025 earnings at $4.19 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $4.23 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $16.00 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $4.01 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $4.33 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.44 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $4.52 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $17.30 EPS.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on LH. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.31.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $245.23 on Wednesday. Laboratory Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $258.59. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $20.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the 3rd 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 period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,483,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total value of $2,815,675.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. This represents a 27.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $235,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,989,670. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,383 shares of company stock valued at $4,408,373. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 32.65%.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.