Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on DGX. Evercore set a $220.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $199.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $194.29 and a 200 day moving average of $186.44. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $157.20 and a fifty-two week high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $588,729.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,133,979.58. This trade represents a 15.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,744,628.97. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors 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.