Stock Alert: LHC Group Down 11%

(RTTNews) - Shares of LHC Group, Inc. (LHCG) are sinking more than 11% Thursday morning after the healthcare provider's first-quarter outlook fell short of estimates.

Fourth-quarter earnings, however, came in better-than-expected.

Net income in the fourth quarter was $21.8 million or $0.70 per share, an increase from $20.55 million or $0.66 per share in the comparable quarter last year. Excluding items, adjusted EPS of $1.15 beat average estimate of 11 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters at $1.13.

Net service revenue increased 4.2% year-on-year to $531.3 million.

For the first quarter, net service revenue is expected to be in the range of $500 million to $510 million and earnings per share is expected to be in a range of $0.70 to $0.80. Analysts see earnings of $0.97 on revenue of $539.28 million.

Full-year 2020 net service revenue is expected to be in a range of $2.13 billion to $2.18 billion and earnings per share is expected to be in a range of $4.60 to $4.80. Analysts have a consensus estimate for revenue of $2.24 billion and for earnings of $4.74.

LHCG is currently at $133.21. The stock has been in a range of $98.41- $159.48 in the past one year.