Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by Zacks in a research report issued on Friday, AnalystRatings.Net reports. They currently have a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks‘ price objective indicates a potential upside of 5.03% from the company’s current price.
Zacks‘ analyst wrote, “Quest Diagnostics reported a dismal second quarter 2013 with adjusted EPS of $1.06, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate by $0.03 and the year-ago earnings by 5.2%. Besides, revenues of $1.81 billion were down 3.3% and failed to meet the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The current market environment continued to remain challenging in the form of lower health care utilization and Medicare cuts. We are also concerned with the overall soft industry trends leading to volume pressure which was reflected in the conservative 2013 outlook. However, we hold a favorable view regarding the company’s organizational restructuring strategy to increase operational efficiency and restore growth. Besides, the company’s strategy to align assets in core diagnostics information service business is encouraging. Accordingly, we remain Neutral on the stock. “
DGX has been the subject of a number of other recent research reports. Analysts at Piper Jaffray Cos. raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $57.00 to $60.00 in a research note to investors on Friday. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock. Separately, analysts at Deutsche Bank cut their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $65.00 to $62.00 in a research note to investors on Friday. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, analysts at UBS AG raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics to $61.00 in a research note to investors on Friday.
Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.53.
Shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) traded up 0.44% during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.29. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $55.16 and a 52 week high of $64.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $61.02. The company has a market cap of $9.006 billion and a P/E ratio of 18.01.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY13 guidance at $4.35-4.50 EPS. Analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post $4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX)is a provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, providing insights that enable patients and physicians to make healthcare decisions.
To view Zacks’ full report, visit www.zacks.com