As of Thursday close, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings’s (NYSE:LH) stock was down -$0.06, moving down -0.03 percent to $205.14. The average number of shares traded per day over the past five days has been 955,440 shares. 4 times new highs have been achieved over the past 5 days, with a $1.50 gain in that time frame. In the last twenty days, the average volume was 834,710, while in the previous 50 days, it was 762,258.
Since last month, LH stock retreated -4.49%. Shares of the company fell to $198.68 on 09/18/23, the lowest level in the past month. A 52-week high of $222.41 was reached on 07/25/23 after having rallying from a 52-week low of $172.09. Since the beginning of this year, LH’s stock price has risen by 1.41% or $8.91, and marked a new high 17 times. However, the stock has declined by -7.77% since its 52-week high.
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Sponsored
LH stock investors should be aware that Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH) stock had its last reported insider trading activity 45 days ago on Aug 08. ANDERSON KERRII B, the Director of the company, disposed of 5,000 shares for $211.57 on Aug 08. It resulted in a $1,057,832 divestment by the insider. van der Vaart Sandra D sold 212 shares at an average price of $240.00 on Jun 29. The insider now owns 7,605 shares following the transaction. On May 19, CEO, Covance Drug Development Kirchgraber Paul R sold 4,300 shares at $216.91 apiece. The transaction was valued at $932,707.
Valuation Metrics
Right now, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH) has a P/E ratio of about 23.11. The stock’s beta is 1.08. Besides these, the trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 1.30, the price-to-book (PB) ratio of 2.07, and the price-to-cash flow ratio of 16.73 may also be considered.
The latest dividend of $0.72 per share was paid out, remained unchanged from last year’s $0.72.
Financial Health
In the three months ended June 29, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings’s quick ratio stood at 2.10, while its current ratio was 2.30, showing that the company is able to pay off its debt. According to company report, the long-term debt-to-equity ratio for the quarter ending June 29 was 0.58, and the total debt-to-equity ratio was 0.62. On the profitability front, the trailing twelve-month gross margin is 27.30% percent. In the year ended June 29, EBITDA margin amounted to 19.88%, whereas operating margins totaled 8.30%. Based on annual data, LH earned $4.39 billion in gross profit and brought in $14.88 billion in revenue.
A company’s management is another factor that investors consider when determining the profitability of an investment. In the past year, return on investment (ROI) was 9.50%. Return on equity (ROE) for the past 12 months was 8.50%.
In Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings’s quarter-end financial report for June 29, it reported total debt of $5.04 billion. According to the earnings report, the company had a lower net income in the recent quarter than it did in the previous quarter. LH’s revenue fell -21.86% to $3.78 billion during the quarter, while net income inched up to $3.03 billion. While analysts expected Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings to report $3.53 quarterly earnings, the actual figure was $3.42 per share, beating the consensus estimate by -3.10%. During the quarter, the company generated $388.2 million in EBITDA. The liabilities of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings were 8.93 billion at the end of its most recent quarter ended June 29, and its total debt was $6.29 billion. The value of shareholders’ equity is $88.6 million.
Technical Picture
This quick technical analysis looks at Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings’s (LH) price momentum. With a historical volatility rate of 13.69%, the RSI 9-day stood at 47.96% on 21 September.
With respect to its five-day moving average, the current Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings price is up by +0.74% percent or $1.50. At present, LH shares trade -4.56% below its 20-day simple moving average and +8.58% percent above its 100-day simple moving average. However, the stock is currently trading approximately -3.72% below its SMA50 and +1.90% above its SMA200.
Stochastic coefficient K was 47.32% and Stochastic coefficient D was 33.83%, while ATR was 3.24. Given the Stochastic reading of 57.71% for the 14-day period, the RSI (14) reading has been calculated as 44.77%. As of today, the MACD Oscillator reading stands at 1.73, while the 14-day reading stands at 1.17.
Analyst Ratings
HSBC Securities launched its rating on Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (NYSE: LH) to a Hold in a note to investors on September 06, 2023. Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH) has been rated Overweight by analysts. According to 0 brokerage firms, LH is a sell, and 7 firms recommend it is a Hold. There are 0 analysts who say the stock is underweight. A total of 1 analyst rate Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings stock as buy, with 10 recommending it as overweight.
With a median target price of $247.42, the current consensus forecast for the stock is $210.00 – $270.00. Based on these forecasts, analysts predict Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH) will achieve an average price target of $244.20.
