Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Releases FY24 Earnings Guidance

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $14.45-15.35 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $14.84. Laboratory Co. of America also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 14.450-15.350 EPS.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of LH stock traded down $9.59 on Thursday, reaching $198.35. 2,097,329 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 756,519. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12-month low of $174.20 and a 12-month high of $234.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $16.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50 day moving average price is $212.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.80.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.01. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.14 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on LH shares. Leerink Partnrs restated an outperform rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Barclays assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an equal weight rating and a $222.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They set an in-line rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Argus upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, SVB Leerink assumed 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 for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $243.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total value of $760,515.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $863,727.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total transaction of $760,515.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at $863,727.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total value of $57,513.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,872.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059. Company 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).