Labcorp (NYSE:LH) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Labcorp's shares hit a new 52-week high after UBS Group raised their price target from $305.00 to $325.00, maintaining a buy rating on the stock.
• Despite recent upgrades, HSBC downgraded Labcorp from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, setting a $260.00 price objective.
• The company reported $4.35 earnings per share for its last quarter, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.72 to be paid on December 11th.

Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $305.00 to $325.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Labcorp traded as high as $289.87 and last traded at $290.10, with a volume of 95195 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $285.94.

LH has been the subject of a number of other reports. HSBC downgraded shares of Labcorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Labcorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Labcorp from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Labcorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Labcorp from $283.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $296.46.

Insider Activity

In other Labcorp news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 3,903 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.42, for a total value of $1,059,352.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $617,209.08. This trade represents a 63.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,426,480. The trade was a 28.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,046 shares of company stock valued at $4,074,692 in the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Labcorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Labcorp by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 111 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Labcorp Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $24.09 billion, a PE ratio of 31.99, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50-day moving average price is $277.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $257.90.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.49 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 5.66% and a return on equity of 15.45%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.94 earnings per share. Labcorp has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.050-16.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Labcorp's payout ratio is currently 31.79%.

About Labcorp

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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