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

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 8.720-8.970 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS 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.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 5.1 %

NYSE DGX traded up $6.65 on Tuesday, hitting $136.74. The stock had a trading volume of 2,088,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,057,877. The business's fifty day moving average price is $128.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $148.62. The stock has a market cap of $15.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 37.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set a market perform rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. TheStreet downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an equal weight rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $144.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders 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.