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

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 8.720-8.970 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 8.750. The company issued revenue guidance of $9.4 billion-$9.5 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $9.4 billion. Quest Diagnostics also updated its FY24 guidance to $8.72-$8.97 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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 a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $2.08 during trading on Thursday, hitting $135.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,016,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,063,713. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $128.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.11. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $119.59 and a 1 year high of $147.96. The stock has a market cap of $15.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. As a group, analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.92%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.