Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE:DGX) saw a downside of -0.03% to close Friday at $123.48 after subtracting -$0.04 on the day. The 5-day average trading volume is 901,380 shares of the company’s common stock. It has gained $127.12 in the past week and touched a new high 2 times within the past 5 days. An average of 778,435 shares of the company has been traded in the last 20 days, and the 50-day average volume stands at 786,230.
DGX’s 1-month performance is -7.45% or -$8.90 on its low of $123.10 reached on 09/22/23. The company’s shares have touched a 52-week low of $120.40 and high of $158.34, with the stock’s rally to the 52-week high happening on 01/04/23. YTD, DGX has lost -21.07% or -$32.96 and has reached a new high 2 times. However, the current price is down -22.01% from the 52-week high price.
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Insider Transactions
DGX stock investors last saw insider trading activity on Mar 07.Doherty Catherine T. (SVP, Regional Businesses) most recently sold 5,307 shares at $140.55 per share on Mar 07. This transaction cost the insider $745,899. SVP & General Counsel, PREVOZNIK MICHAEL E, sold 4,754 shares at a price of $140.55 on Mar 07. Then, on Mar 03, SVP, Regional Businesses Doherty Catherine T. sold 717 shares at a price of $140.63 per share. This transaction amounted to $100,832.
Valuation Metrics
DGX stock has a beta of 0.95. Moving on to other valuation ratios, the trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio is 1.46 while the price-to-book (PB) in the most recent quarter is 2.21, with the price to cash flow ratio at 15.78.
Quest Diagnostics Inc.’s quick ratio for the period ended June 29 was 0.83, with the current ratio over the same period at 0.92. As well, the company’s long term debt to equity for the quarter ending June 29 was 0.69, while the total debt to equity was 0.79. In terms of profitability, the gross margin trailing 12 months is 32.83%. The trailing 12-month EBITDA margin is 20.83% while for the period ending June 29, Quest Diagnostics Inc.’s operating margin was 14.64%. The firm’s gross profit as reported stood at $3.43 billion against revenue of $9.88 billion.
Earnings Surprise
For the quarterly period ending June 29 this year, Net income and sales went up compared to those figures reported in the previous quarter. Net income grew 0.43% to $235.0 million, while revenue of $202.0 million was 14.04% off the previous quarter. Analysts expected DGX to announce $2.27 per share in earnings in its latest quarter, but it posted $2.3, representing a 1.30% surprise. EBITDA for the quarter stood at more than $460.0 million. DGX stock balance sheet for the quarter ending June 29 shows that total liabilities totaled 7.14 billion, with total debt at $4.96 billion. Shareholders hold equity totaling $112.23 million.
Let’s look briefly at Quest Diagnostics Inc. (DGX) price momentum from a technical analysis perspective. The 9-day relative strength index as at close on 22 September was 18.99% to suggest the stock is trending oversold, with historical volatility in this time period at 8.66%.
The stock’s 5-day moving average is $124.67, reflecting a -2.17% or -$2.74 change from its current price. DGX is currently trading -7.31% above its 20-day SMA, -11.47% above its 100-day SMA. However, the stock’s current price level is away from the SMA50 by -12.29% and SMA200 by-17.08%.
Stochastic %K and %D was 3.41% and 2.89% and the average true range (ATR) pointed at 1.74. The RSI (14) points at 24.56%, while the 14-day stochastic is at 5.44% with the period’s ATR at 1.82. The stock’s 9-day MACD Oscillator is pointing at -1.81 and -2.25 on the 14-day charts.
Analyst Ratings
In the most recent analyst report for Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX), Piper Sandler launched coverage with a Neutral rating. Analysts offering their rating for DGX stock have a consensus rating for the stock as Hold. Currently, 0 brokerage advisors rate DGX as a “sell,”, while 14 advise that investors “Hold.” 0 analysts have rated the stock as underweight. 0 rates the stock as overweight while 4 have offered a “buy” rating.
What is DGX’s price target for the next 12 months?
Analysts have a consensus price target ranging from a low of $136.00 and a high of $165.00, with their median price target at $147.50. Looking at these predictions, the average price target given by analysts is for Quest Diagnostics Inc. (DGX) stock is $148.14.
