Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Updates FY23 Earnings Guidance

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) updated its FY23 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $8.40-9.00 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $8.71. The company issued revenue guidance of $8.83 billion to $9.03 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $8.98 billion.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $146.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $143.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, January 12th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, January 23rd. They issued an inline rating and a $159.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a buy rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $150.91.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.8 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $131.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $120.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $143.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.15.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The medical research company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.26 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 18.84%. The business’s revenue was down 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 6th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $200,109.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,577,604.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $157,412,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 548.7% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,125,530 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $149,673,000 after purchasing an additional 952,037 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,014,030 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,917,961,000 after purchasing an additional 636,301 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 106.2% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 289,758 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,656,000 after purchasing an additional 149,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 725,486 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $113,495,000 after purchasing an additional 99,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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Quest Diagnostics, Inc engages in the provision of diagnostic testing, information and services. It operates through the Diagnostic Information Services (DIS) and All Other segments. The DIS segment offers diagnostic information services to patients, clinicians, hospitals, health plans, and employers.