Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Labcorp Holdings has a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy", with 8 buy ratings and 3 hold ratings among 11 firms covering the stock. The average 12-month price target is $308.
• The company beat expectations in its latest quarterly results, reporting earnings per share of $4.25 versus $4.09 expected and revenue of $3.54 billion versus $3.51 billion expected. Revenue rose 5.8% year over year.
• Labcorp also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, equal to $2.88 annually and a yield of about 1.1%. The company has also seen recent insider share sales, including transactions by its CEO and an EVP.

Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $308.00.

LH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $334.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Labcorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th.

Labcorp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $254.53 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.40. Labcorp has a 1-year low of $241.81 and a 1-year high of $293.72. The firm has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.90.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.09 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The company's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.84 earnings per share. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Labcorp will post 18 earnings per share for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Labcorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.51%.

Insider Transactions at Labcorp

In other news, EVP Kathryn W. Kyle sold 762 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.89, for a total transaction of $201,084.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,006,212.57. This represents a 16.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.50, for a total transaction of $1,502,313.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 107,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,291,053. This trade represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Labcorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LH. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the first quarter worth $130,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Labcorp by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,540 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas boosted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas now owns 18,992 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,067,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Labcorp by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 274,184 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $73,155,000 after acquiring an additional 34,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 55.2% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Labcorp

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, commonly known as Labcorp NYSE: LH, is a global life sciences company that provides comprehensive clinical laboratory and drug development services. The company operates a broad network of laboratories, patient service centers and specialty testing sites to deliver diagnostic information and testing solutions that support patient care, clinical decision-making and population health initiatives.

Labcorp's core businesses encompass clinical laboratory testing and pharmaceutical development services.

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