Laboratory Corp. of America (LH) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Evercore ISI

Stock analysts at Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Laboratory Corp. of America (NYSE:LH) in a report released on Thursday, The Fly reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on LH. Robert W. Baird reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $166.00 price target on shares of Laboratory Corp. of America in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. ValuEngine raised shares of Laboratory Corp. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. Mizuho set a $165.00 target price on shares of Laboratory Corp. of America and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Wells Fargo & Co initiated coverage on shares of Laboratory Corp. of America in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Laboratory Corp. of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Shares of Laboratory Corp. of America (NYSE LH) traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $163.05. 410,400 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 442,900. The stock has a market cap of $16,670.00, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.89. Laboratory Corp. of America has a 12 month low of $128.00 and a 12 month high of $165.18.

Laboratory Corp. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The medical research company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. Laboratory Corp. of America had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 16.75%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. research analysts predict that Laboratory Corp. of America will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other news, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 971 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.52, for a total transaction of $149,067.92. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $537,473.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Laboratory Corp. of America by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. BTIM Corp. raised its holdings in Laboratory Corp. of America by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. BTIM Corp. now owns 19,370 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,395,000 after buying an additional 1,260 shares during the period. Bank of The West raised its holdings in Laboratory Corp. of America by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of The West now owns 16,139 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after buying an additional 748 shares during the period. Oakbrook Investments LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Corp. of America by 63.7% in the 4th quarter. Oakbrook Investments LLC now owns 10,857 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after buying an additional 4,225 shares during the period. Finally, KAMES CAPITAL plc raised its holdings in Laboratory Corp. of America by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. KAMES CAPITAL plc now owns 13,786 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,704,000 after buying an additional 3,144 shares during the period. 91.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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About Laboratory Corp. of America

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings is a life sciences company that is integrated in guiding patient care, providing clinical laboratory and end-to-end drug development services. The Company operates as a healthcare diagnostics company. The Company operates through two segments: LabCorp Diagnostics (LCD) and Covance Drug Development (CDD).

The Fly

Analyst Recommendations for Laboratory Corp. of America (NYSE:LH)