Fresenius SE & Co. (OTCMKTS:FSNUY) and Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Financial Contrast

Fresenius SE & Co. (OTCMKTS:FSNUY) and Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and profitability.

Dividends

Fresenius SE & Co. pays an annual dividend of $0.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics pays an annual dividend of $3.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Fresenius SE & Co. pays out 35.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Quest Diagnostics pays out 38.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Quest Diagnostics has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Quest Diagnostics is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

88.1% of Quest Diagnostics shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.2% of Quest Diagnostics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Fresenius SE & Co. and Quest Diagnostics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fresenius SE & Co.	5.09%	9.33%	4.32%
Quest Diagnostics	9.01%	15.24%	6.64%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Fresenius SE & Co. and Quest Diagnostics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fresenius SE & Co.	$23.63 billion	N/A	$509.67 million	$0.53	26.03
Quest Diagnostics	$9.87 billion	2.09	$871.00 million	$8.35	22.06

Quest Diagnostics has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Fresenius SE & Co.. Quest Diagnostics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fresenius SE & Co., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Fresenius SE & Co. and Quest Diagnostics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fresenius SE & Co.	0	0	2	1	3.33
Quest Diagnostics	0	8	8	2	2.67

Quest Diagnostics has a consensus price target of $186.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.96%. Given Quest Diagnostics’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Quest Diagnostics is more favorable than Fresenius SE & Co..

Volatility & Risk

Fresenius SE & Co. has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Quest Diagnostics has a beta of 0.46, indicating that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Quest Diagnostics beats Fresenius SE & Co. on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fresenius SE & Co.

Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA, a health care company, provides products and services for chronically ill patients. It operates through four segments: Fresenius Medical Care, Fresenius Kabi, Fresenius Helios, and Fresenius Vamed. The Fresenius Medical Care segment offers products and services for patients with chronic kidney failure. This segment provides dialyzers, dialysis machines, and related disposable products, as well as dialysis-related services. The Fresenius Kabi segment engages in the therapy and care of critically and chronically ill patients. This segment offers I.V. generic drugs; biosimilar drugs for autoimmune diseases and oncology; enteral and parenteral nutrition products; medical technologies, as well as disposables, infusions pumps, apheresis machines, cell therapy devices, and other products. The Fresenius Helios segment provides clinical and nursing care facilities. The Fresenius Vamed segment provides services for hospitals and other healthcare facilities. This segment also offers operational management of healthcare facilities and provides services to patients. The company was formerly known as Fresenius SE and changed its name to Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA in January 2011. Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Germany.

About Quest Diagnostics

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. It offers diagnostic information services primarily under the Quest Diagnostics brand, as well as under the AmeriPath, Dermpath Diagnostics, ExamOne, and Quanum brands to physicians, hospitals, patients and consumers, health plans, government agencies, employers, retailers, pharmaceutical companies and insurers, and accountable care organizations through a network of laboratories, patient service centers, phlebotomists in physician offices, call centers and mobile phlebotomists, nurses, and other health and wellness professionals. The company also provides risk assessment services for the life insurance industry; and healthcare organizations and clinicians information technology solutions. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey.