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

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 14.450-15.350 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 14.820. The company issued revenue guidance of $12.7 billion-$12.9 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $12.8 billion. Laboratory Co. of America also updated its FY24 guidance to $14.45-15.35 EPS.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE LH traded up $0.05 on Friday, reaching $198.40. The company had a trading volume of 931,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 758,681. The firm has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Laboratory Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $174.20 and a fifty-two week high of $234.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $212.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.69.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.46 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 61.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LH. Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They issued an in-line rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. SVB Leerink started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an outperform rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $242.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total transaction of $107,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at $732,881.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total transaction of $107,745.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $732,881.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $1,102,735.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,100,114.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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).