Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Quest Diagnostics has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 13 analysts, with five buys, one strong buy and seven holds. The average 12-month price target is approximately $235.31.
• The company reported quarterly results above expectations, with EPS of $3.12 versus a $2.82 consensus and revenue of $3.04 billion, up 10.2% year over year. Analysts expect full-year EPS of about $11.15.
• Quest Diagnostics declared a quarterly dividend of $0.86, equivalent to $3.44 annually and a 1.4% yield. Insiders sold $3.95 million worth of shares over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 88.06% of the stock.

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $235.3077.

Several research firms have weighed in on DGX. Weiss Ratings raised Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Argus set a $260.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $241.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $218.52 and a 200-day moving average of $204.87. The company has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $171.18 and a 12-month high of $245.68.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.62 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. The trade was a 13.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% in the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics NYSE: DGX is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.

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