Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Quest Diagnostics a “Moderate Buy”: five of nine recommend holding, three recommend buying and one rates it a strong buy. The average one-year price target is $248.70.
• Quest beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $3.00 versus $2.87 forecast and revenue of $3.10 billion versus $3.05 billion expected; revenue rose 10% year over year.
• The company’s quarterly dividend is $0.86 per share, equivalent to $3.44 annually and a 1.4% yield. Shares opened at $246.68, down 1.6% in the session.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $248.70.

DGX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Argus set a $260.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $246.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $238.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.70. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $171.18 and a 52 week high of $256.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $27.14 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.55.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 16.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total transaction of $5,513,005.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $9,130,482.27. The trade was a 37.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gary Pfeiffer sold 1,203 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.00, for a total transaction of $292,329.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 29,802 shares in the company, valued at $7,241,886. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 33,880 shares of company stock valued at $8,232,534 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 492.9% in the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated NYSE: DGX is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing that helps physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers diagnose, treat and monitor diseases and health conditions. Its services include routine blood and other specimen testing, pathology, molecular and genetic testing, and specialized diagnostic services.

Quest Diagnostics serves a broad range of customers, including hospitals, physician practices, health plans, employers, government agencies and individual consumers.

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