Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided EPS guidance of $8.72-$8.97 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. TheStreet downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an equal weight rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $144.18.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $130.09 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.95. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $148.62. The company has a market capitalization of $14.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 37.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $103,560.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,800 shares in the company, valued at $8,930,712. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,067,904.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company 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.