Leerink Partnrs Issues Negative Outlook for LH Earnings

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) – Stock analysts at Leerink Partnrs lowered their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note issued to investors on Monday, January 6th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now anticipates that the medical research company will earn $3.40 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $3.47. The consensus estimate for Laboratory Co. of America’s current full-year earnings is $14.52 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Laboratory Co. of America’s Q2 2025 earnings at $4.05 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $4.16 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $4.16 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $16.21 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $17.28 EPS.

LH has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price target (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $260.54.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH opened at $235.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $234.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.18. The stock has a market cap of $19.70 billion, a PE ratio of 45.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.06. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $247.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction of $1,506,835.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $241,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,592. This trade represents a 11.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,910,209. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 115.7% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after buying an additional 3,265 shares during the last quarter. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at $955,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,316,000. Banyan Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Banyan Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,925 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 620,721 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $138,718,000 after purchasing an additional 65,356 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

About Laboratory Co. of America

Labcorp Holdings Inc provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.