StockNews.com Upgrades Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.15.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $153.10 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $165.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $157.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.74. The firm has a market cap of $17.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 51.5% during the second quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 362 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.