Labcorp (NYSE:LH) Stock Rating Raised to Buy at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of Labcorp (NYSE:LH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $410.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock.

LH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Labcorp from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $355.00 price target on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Labcorp from $300.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Labcorp from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Labcorp from $361.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.08.

Labcorp Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $362.93 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $325.05 and its 200 day moving average is $289.53. Labcorp has a 52 week low of $244.52 and a 52 week high of $373.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $29.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.86.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The medical research company reported $4.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by $0.14. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.88% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Labcorp will post 18.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio is 23.63%.

Insider Transactions at Labcorp

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 4,669 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.37, for a total transaction of $1,495,807.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,565 shares in the company, valued at $32,858,749.05. The trade was a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Bryan T. Vaughn sold 306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.70, for a total value of $108,232.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,421,076.50. The trade was a 4.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 9,053 shares of company stock worth $2,947,495 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Labcorp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LH. Banyan Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 3rd quarter worth $11,755,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of Labcorp by 13.3% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 5,092 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 4.5% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 49,854 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $15,361,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 365.0% during the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 4,673 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 3,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 13.9% during the third quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 2,773 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $854,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Labcorp

Here are the key news stories impacting Labcorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HSBC upgraded Labcorp from “hold” to “buy” and set a $410 price target, implying about 13% upside from the cited share price. HSBC analyst rating
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target to $400 from $355, adding to the constructive analyst outlook. Mizuho price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted LH as a top-ranked momentum stock, which may attract investors focused on price trends; the article is promotional research content, not a guarantee of future performance. Zacks momentum-stock article
• Positive Sentiment: Labcorp completed its acquisition of Millennium Health, expanding its business; the provided report does not detail the expected financial contribution. Millennium Health acquisition completion
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Julia Wang is scheduled to speak at the UBS Global Healthcare Conference on November 10; no new financial guidance was reported. Conference announcement
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Bryan Vaughn sold 306 shares, while director Richelle Parham sold 1,078 shares. Vaughn’s sale was under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; insider sales can create some near-term concern but do not necessarily signal a change in outlook. Insider transaction report

About Labcorp

Labcorp (NYSE: LH), formally Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, is a global life sciences and healthcare company headquartered in Burlington, North Carolina. The company provides laboratory testing and diagnostic services to physicians, hospitals, health systems, employers, insurers and consumers.

Through its diagnostics operations, Labcorp offers routine and specialty testing, oncology diagnostics, women’s health testing, genetic testing, pathology services and other laboratory services.