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

Key Points

• Labcorp Holdings Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from thirteen analysts, with nine analysts rating it as a buy.
• The company's stock achieved a one-year high of $283.47 and reported earnings per share of $4.35, exceeding estimates during its last quarterly earnings.
• Labcorp declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, indicating an annualized yield of 1.0% and a payout ratio of 31.79%.

Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $290.3333.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LH. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Labcorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Labcorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Barclays reiterated a "cautious" rating on shares of Labcorp in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $280.00 price target (up from $260.00) on shares of Labcorp in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Labcorp from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th.

Insider Activity at Labcorp

In related news, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 2,000 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.95, for a total value of $529,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,763,507.20. This trade represents a 23.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 3,500 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $980,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,426,480. This trade represents a 28.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,046 shares of company stock valued at $4,831,192. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Labcorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Labcorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Labcorp by 88.1% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 111 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Labcorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Labcorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Labcorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Labcorp Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of LH traded up $2.78 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $278.07. The stock had a trading volume of 379,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,274. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $23.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.85. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $263.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.43. Labcorp has a 12-month low of $209.38 and a 12-month high of $283.47.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.14 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.49 billion. Labcorp had a return on equity of 15.45% and a net margin of 5.66%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.94 EPS. Labcorp has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.050-16.500 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Labcorp will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 28th. Labcorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.79%.

Labcorp 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.