Qiagen N.V. (NYSE:QGEN) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Qiagen has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold", based on 13 covering firms; the average 12-month price target is about $43.15.
• Recent analyst moves were mixed, with firms such as Stifel Nicolaus and TD Cowen maintaining hold ratings, while Weiss Ratings downgraded the stock to sell and Zacks upgraded it to hold.
• Qiagen reported quarterly earnings of $0.54 per share, matching expectations, and recently raised its annual dividend to $0.35 per share from $0.26.

Shares of Qiagen N.V. (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.1455.

A number of research firms have weighed in on QGEN. Stifel Nicolaus set a $36.00 target price on Qiagen and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $40.00 price target (down from $46.00) on shares of Qiagen in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Qiagen from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Kepler Capital Markets set a $38.60 price objective on Qiagen and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Qiagen from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Institutional Trading of Qiagen

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Qiagen during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Qiagen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Qiagen in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Qiagen by 279.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,155 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Qiagen by 23.2% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,358 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Qiagen Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:QGEN opened at $41.52 on Monday. Qiagen has a one year low of $32.53 and a one year high of $57.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.57 and a current ratio of 3.21. The firm has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.56.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.54. The firm had revenue of $492.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $496.15 million. Qiagen had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 14.40%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Qiagen will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Qiagen Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 7th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 7th. This is a positive change from Qiagen's previous annual dividend of $0.26. This represents a dividend yield of 90.0%. Qiagen's payout ratio is currently 18.32%.

About Qiagen

Qiagen NV NYSE: QGEN is a global provider of sample and assay technologies designed to enable molecular testing in the fields of molecular diagnostics, applied testing, academic research and pharmaceutical development. The company's solutions span the full workflow of nucleic acid and protein analysis, offering customers standardized kits, instruments and software tools that streamline the preparation, detection and quantification of DNA, RNA and proteins.

The company's product portfolio includes nucleic acid extraction and purification systems, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) reagents and instrumentation, digital PCR platforms, next-generation sequencing (NGS) library‐preparation kits and proteomics solutions.

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