Evercore ISI Upgrades Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) to “Outperform”

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) was upgraded by investment analysts at Evercore ISI from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $265.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $260.00. Evercore ISI’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.16% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on LH. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price objective (up from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $260.54.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:LH opened at $234.18 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $19.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.06. Laboratory Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $247.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.25.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,572 shares of company stock valued at $6,145,209. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% in the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $396,771,000 after acquiring an additional 395,197 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $73,928,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $416,893,000 after purchasing an additional 263,105 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $354,528,000 after purchasing an additional 230,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,405,000 after buying an additional 167,137 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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.