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

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

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $148.25 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $16.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $152.60 and its 200 day moving average is $144.20. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $120.87 and a twelve month high of $159.36.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on DGX shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

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.