Quest Diagnostics (DGX) Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Tuesday

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) will be issuing its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Tuesday, October 22nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $2.27 per share for the quarter. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2024 guidance at 8.800-9.000 EPS and its FY24 guidance at $8.80-9.00 EPS.Parties that are interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly 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. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Quest Diagnostics to post $9 EPS for the current fiscal year and $10 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $149.65 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.09. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $120.87 and a 12-month high of $159.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $16.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on DGX. Citigroup raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.92.

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.