Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The medical research company reported $2.35 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 15.35%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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 Price Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $145.60 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $150.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $141.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.46.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target 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. Nine research 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, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.