Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Releases FY24 Earnings Guidance

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $8.72-$8.97 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.75. The company issued revenue guidance of $9.40-$9.48 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $9.40 billion. Quest Diagnostics also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 8.720-8.970 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded down $2.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $135.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,016,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,063,713. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $128.69 and its 200 day moving average is $131.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $147.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.92%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,843,610.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 over the last ninety days. 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.