Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Expected to Post Earnings of $5.88 Per Share

Brokerages expect Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH – Get Rating) to report earnings per share (EPS) of $5.88 for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Six analysts have provided estimates for Laboratory Co. of America’s earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at $4.46 and the highest estimate coming in at $6.85. Laboratory Co. of America reported earnings of $8.79 per share in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a negative year over year growth rate of 33.1%. The company is expected to issue its next quarterly earnings report before the market opens on Monday, January 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will report full year earnings of $19.42 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $18.18 to $20.64. For the next year, analysts forecast that the business will report earnings of $18.11 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $17.59 to $18.37. Zacks’ EPS averages are an average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that follow Laboratory Co. of America.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $6.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $5.90 by $0.87. The company had revenue of $4.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 27.08% and a net margin of 14.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.56 EPS.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $332.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $294.00 in a research note on Friday, January 28th. Citigroup increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $340.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, February 11th. Credit Suisse Group increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $340.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.34.

In related news, EVP Mark S. Schroeder sold 2,356 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.11, for a total value of $652,871.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director R Sanders Williams sold 572 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.98, for a total value of $156,144.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,749 shares of company stock worth $1,031,367 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LH. Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 5,721 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Veritable L.P. raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Veritable L.P. now owns 1,520 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Condor Capital Management raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 9,835 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,090,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 13,413 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,775,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,241 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.22% of the company’s stock.

Shares of LH stock opened at $269.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $270.49 and a 200 day moving average of $280.21. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1 year low of $254.46 and a 1 year high of $317.17.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 18th.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile (Get Rating)

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as an independent clinical laboratory company worldwide. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics (Dx) and Labcorp Drug Development (DD). It offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid tests, Pap tests, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D products, prostate-specific antigens, tests for sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C tests, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.

Further Reading