Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04, Briefing.com reports. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of DGX traded up $1.88 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $145.79. 448,667 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 986,210. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $150.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $141.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.39. The company has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $246,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.38.

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.