What is Leerink Partnrs’ Forecast for LH Q4 Earnings?

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) – Research analysts at Leerink Partnrs lowered their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for Laboratory Co. of America in a research note issued to investors on Monday, January 6th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now expects that the medical research company will post earnings per share of $3.40 for the quarter, down from their previous 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.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on LH. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.62.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.2 %

LH stock opened at $229.59 on Tuesday. Laboratory Co. of America has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $247.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $234.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.41, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.06.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.38 EPS.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LH. SouthState Corp bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% in the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.