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

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The company’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. 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 Stock Performance

Shares of DGX traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $138.29. The stock had a trading volume of 494,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,049,981. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $128.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.03. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $148.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 37.92%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $103,560.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,930,712. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TheStreet lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.50.

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.