Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Quest Diagnostics has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 18 analysts, with varying ratings including 8 holds, 8 buys, and 2 strong buys.
• The company's stock current price is around $177.09, with an average price target of $186.00 set by analysts over the next year.
• Quest Diagnostics reported a quarterly EPS of $2.62, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.57, with a revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter.

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $186.00.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE DGX traded up $1.33 during trading on Monday, reaching $178.29. 653,178 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,384,421. The stock has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $174.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.35. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $146.17 and a 1 year high of $182.38.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $968,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,219 shares in the company, valued at $3,363,325. This represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $375,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,500. The trade was a 20.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,014 shares of company stock valued at $2,728,556 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $323,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 232.3% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,137,114 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $171,545,000 after buying an additional 23,425 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,151 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,587,000 after buying an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,811 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,140,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.