Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.18 EPS

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18, Briefing.com reports. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $1.59 on Wednesday, reaching $138.29. 494,820 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,049,981. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $148.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $128.50 and a 200 day moving average of $131.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DGX. Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 in the last three months. Company 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.