Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Issues FY24 Earnings Guidance

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $8.85-$8.95 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.89. The company issued revenue guidance of $9.80-$9.85 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $9.68 billion. Quest Diagnostics also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 8.850-8.950 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. 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 research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.92.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $147.40 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.20. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $120.87 and a 52 week high of $159.36. The stock has a market cap of $16.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.