$2.91 Earnings Per Share Expected for Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) This Quarter

Brokerages predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) will announce earnings per share (EPS) of $2.91 for the current quarter, Zacks reports. Six analysts have made estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ earnings, with estimates ranging from $2.62 to $3.20. Quest Diagnostics reported earnings per share of $3.76 in the same quarter last year, which suggests a negative year-over-year growth rate of 22.6%. The firm is expected to announce its next earnings report before the market opens on Monday, January 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will report full year earnings of $9.01 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $8.24 to $9.33. For the next year, analysts anticipate that the business will post earnings of $8.23 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $7.10 to $8.75. Zacks Investment Research’s EPS calculations are an average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that cover Quest Diagnostics.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 3rd. The medical research company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.35 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 28.50% and a net margin of 18.49%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.48 earnings per share.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $170.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $129.00 in a research report on Friday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $162.00 to $146.00 in a research report on Friday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $139.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.58.

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $135.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $136.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 1.12. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $125.77 and a 1 year high of $174.16.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 6th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.97%.

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 6,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.21, for a total value of $842,087.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.26, for a total transaction of $347,215.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 11,625,245 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,689,266,000 after buying an additional 806,359 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,245,719 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,080,572,000 after buying an additional 144,251 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,480,473 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $459,317,000 after buying an additional 141,643 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,561,957 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $442,198,000 after buying an additional 29,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,186,919 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $378,329,000 after buying an additional 29,895 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

About Quest Diagnostics (Get Rating)

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing, information, and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine testing, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.

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