Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.18 EPS

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics updated its FY24 guidance to $8.72-$8.97 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 8.720-8.970 EPS.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $137.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $128.69 and a 200-day moving average of $131.08. The company has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $119.59 and a one year high of $148.62.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.18%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 37.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on DGX. Barclays began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.25.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,843,610.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,843,610.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 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 $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.