Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.86

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share by the medical research company on Wednesday, January 27th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 12th.

Quest Diagnostics has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Quest Diagnostics has a dividend payout ratio of 32.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Quest Diagnostics to earn $11.90 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.9%.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE DGX traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $258.43. 107,932 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 976,066. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $171.18 and a twelve month high of $260.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.44.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.21% and a net margin of 9.53%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services, conducting laboratory tests that help physicians and other health care professionals diagnose, monitor and manage medical conditions. Its services include routine blood and other clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, and specialized molecular and genetic testing. The company serves patients, physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers and government organizations. In addition to testing performed through its laboratories and patient service centers, Quest offers services such as workplace drug testing and diagnostic support for clinical research.