William Blair Has Negative Forecast for LH Q1 Earnings

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) – Equities researchers at William Blair lowered their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report issued on Monday, February 10th. William Blair analyst A. Brackmann now anticipates that the medical research company will post earnings of $3.57 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $3.69. The consensus estimate for Laboratory Co. of America’s current full-year earnings is $15.96 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Laboratory Co. of America’s Q3 2025 earnings at $4.19 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $4.23 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $16.00 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $4.01 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $4.33 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.44 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $4.52 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $17.30 EPS.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LH. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. HSBC upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.31.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of LH opened at $245.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $258.59. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.24.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 344.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,123,409 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $263,161,000 after purchasing an additional 870,903 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth $123,415,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 263,105 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in 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 stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $431,405,000 after purchasing an additional 167,137 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total transaction of $239,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $639,251.40. This trade represents a 27.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,383 shares of company stock worth $4,408,373 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.65%.

About Laboratory Co. of America

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.