Quest Diagnostics Inc (NYSE:DGX) – Stock analysts at SunTrust Banks decreased their Q1 2019 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, February 19th. SunTrust Banks analyst D. Macdonald now anticipates that the medical research company will post earnings of $1.35 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.52. SunTrust Banks currently has a “Positive” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. SunTrust Banks also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q2 2019 earnings at $1.71 EPS, Q3 2019 earnings at $1.71 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $1.69 EPS, FY2019 earnings at $6.46 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $6.76 EPS.
Get Quest Diagnostics alerts:Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 14th. The medical research company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.77% and a return on equity of 15.23%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share.
A number of other analysts have also weighed in on DGX. Zacks Investment Research raised Quest Diagnostics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 12th. Piper Jaffray Companies dropped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 14th. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating and set a $114.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday, February 15th. Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 15th. Finally, UBS Group set a $91.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.82.
NYSE:DGX opened at $87.81 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $11.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $78.95 and a fifty-two week high of $116.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 15th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 14th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.60%.
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth $743,000. USS Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 103,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,603,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. CenturyLink Investment Management Co raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. CenturyLink Investment Management Co now owns 12,861 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares in the last quarter. Tdam USA Inc. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Tdam USA Inc. now owns 7,236 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 85.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Quest Diagnostics Company Profile
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing information and services in the United States and internationally. The company's Diagnostic Information Services business segment develops and delivers diagnostic testing information and services, such as routine testing, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, gene-based and esoteric testing, anatomic pathology, and other diagnostic information services.
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