Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Issues Earnings Results

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics updated its FY 2024 guidance to 8.800-9.000 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $8.80-9.00 EPS.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX traded up $0.34 during trading on Thursday, reaching $144.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,126,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 990,983. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $150.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $141.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.39. The stock has a market cap of $16.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DGX. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.38.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $246,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,435 shares in the company, valued at $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.