Laboratory Co. of America (LH) to Release Earnings on Thursday

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) will release its earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect Laboratory Co. of America to post earnings of $3.47 per share for the quarter. Laboratory Co. of America has set its FY24 guidance at $14.30-$15.40 EPS.Persons interested in listening to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Laboratory Co. of America to post $15 EPS for the current fiscal year and $16 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH opened at $199.97 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1-year low of $174.20 and a 1-year high of $234.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $214.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.69.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given 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 1.44%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LH shares. Barclays started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 target price for the company. Argus upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. TheStreet downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. SVB Leerink started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.50.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were 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 owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at $863,727.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $49,588.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at $842,998.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,727.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 532.2% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,530,675 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $360,441,000 after buying an additional 1,288,574 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $219,236,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 151.3% during the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 916,033 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $221,066,000 after buying an additional 551,469 shares in the last quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the first quarter worth approximately $64,238,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 117.2% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 453,127 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $109,353,000 after buying an additional 244,517 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).