Laboratory Co. of America Holdings to Post Q2 2024 Earnings of $3.72 Per Share, Leerink Partnrs Forecasts (NYSE:LH)

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) – Stock analysts at Leerink Partnrs dropped their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Laboratory Co. of America in a research note issued on Thursday, April 25th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now anticipates that the medical research company will earn $3.72 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $3.82. Leerink Partnrs has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Laboratory Co. of America’s current full-year earnings is $14.84 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Laboratory Co. of America’s Q4 2024 earnings at $3.48 EPS.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.46 by $0.22. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.82 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. SVB Leerink initiated 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 on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI initiated 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 on the stock. TheStreet cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $198.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.69 billion, a PE ratio of 42.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $211.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.66. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12-month low of $174.20 and a 12-month high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total value of $107,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,881.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total value of $107,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,881.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 6,477 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total value of $1,407,387.33. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,094,272.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LH. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $291,045,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $446,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,755 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,280,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $257,522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108,776 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3,836.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 806,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $162,243,000 after acquiring an additional 786,477 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,212,497 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $444,821,000 after acquiring an additional 483,878 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% 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).