Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $8.72-$8.97 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $8.75. The company issued revenue guidance of $9.40-$9.48 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $9.40 billion. Quest Diagnostics also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 8.720-8.970 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TheStreet downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Leerink Partnrs restated a market perform rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Truist Financial restated a hold rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an equal weight rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Finally, SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a market perform rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $144.18.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE DGX traded up $5.05 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $135.14. The stock had a trading volume of 289,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,033,120. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $148.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $128.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.95. The company has a market cap of $15.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 37.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.