Leerink Partnrs Issues Pessimistic Outlook for LH Earnings

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) – Leerink Partnrs reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a note issued to investors on Thursday, February 6th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now anticipates that the medical research company will post earnings of $3.67 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $3.84. The consensus estimate for Laboratory Co. of America’s current full-year earnings is $15.96 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Laboratory Co. of America’s Q4 2025 earnings at $4.14 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $16.09 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $19.88 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $22.13 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.31.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:LH opened at $245.14 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $236.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.99. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $258.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $20.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,483,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $235,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at $2,989,670. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,383 shares of company stock valued at $4,408,373 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

About Laboratory Co. of America

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.