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

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 8.850-8.950 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DGX. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.92.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $147.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.37 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 has a 12-month low of $120.87 and a 12-month high of $159.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $152.60 and its 200 day moving average is $144.20.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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