Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (DGX) To Go Ex-Dividend on October 6th

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.86 per share by the medical research company on Wednesday, October 21st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th.

Quest Diagnostics has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Quest Diagnostics has a payout ratio of 32.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Quest Diagnostics to earn $11.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.8%.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:DGX opened at $236.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50 day moving average is $214.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $171.18 and a 52 week high of $240.13.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 11.15 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.31.

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.