Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.16 EPS

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The medical research company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16, Briefing.com reports. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Laboratory Co. of America updated its FY24 guidance to $14.30-14.90 EPS.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock traded up $2.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $236.00. 1,194,681 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 600,207. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 47.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $205.23 and a 200-day moving average of $210.54. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $238.46.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total value of $421,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,188,448.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.79.

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).