Jefferies Starts Lifepoint Holdings (LPNT) at Buy, Sees Guidance Conservative As it Has Been The Last 3 Years

Jefferies initiates coverage on shares of Lifepoint Holdings (NASDAQ: LPNT) with a Buy rating and $49 price target.

Long term, initiatives such as physician recruitment and service line development should help stabilize volumes that have been under pressure due to high unemployment rates. The firm reports that as employment levels improve and LPNT laps easier comps, the Company should generate margin and multiple expansion.

LPNT has a very conservative balance sheet with a leverage ratio of 3.1x. Jefferies believes given LPNT's relatively small revenue base, one or two well-executed acquisitions annually could meaningfully add to EBITDA over the next 3-4 years.

Jefferies believes that the Company will report its Q1 results ahead of its guidance or at the top end of it as it has in the last three years. The firm is releasing its 2011 and 2012 EPS estimates at $3.01 and $3.39 and its revenue estimates at $3,518.3 million and $3,670.2 million. Its EBITDA estimates are $525.2 million and $555.4 million.

For more ratings news on Lifepoint Holdings click here and for the rating history of Lifepoint Holdings click here.

Shares of Lifepoint Holdings closed at $38.86 yesterday.

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Jefferies Starts Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) at Buy
• JPMorgan Assumes salesforce.com (CRM) at Overweight, 'Overblown Concerns'
• Jefferies Upgrades Minerva Neurosciences (NERV) to Buy