Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Releases FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 8.850-8.950 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 8.850. The company issued revenue guidance of $9.8 billion-$9.9 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $9.7 billion. Quest Diagnostics also updated its FY24 guidance to $8.85-$8.95 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.08.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 6.9 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $157.47 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $120.87 and a 52 week high of $159.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $152.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by 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.