Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) Receives Consensus Recommendation 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%.

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

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays restated a "cautious" rating on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Labcorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Labcorp from $282.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Labcorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $280.00 target price (up previously from $260.00) on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Labcorp Trading Up 0.8%

LH stock opened at $278.41 on Wednesday. Labcorp has a one year low of $209.38 and a one year high of $283.47. The stock has a market cap of $23.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $261.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $248.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

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

Labcorp Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $980,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,426,480. This trade represents a 28.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 2,000 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.95, for a total transaction of $529,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,763,507.20. The trade was a 23.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,046 shares of company stock worth $4,831,192. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Labcorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Labcorp by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 517,396 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $135,821,000 after buying an additional 105,453 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Labcorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in Labcorp by 3.0% during the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,371 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Labcorp by 61.6% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 286 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $58,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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