Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Short Interest Up 6.3% in January

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,030,000 shares, an increase of 6.3% from the December 31st total of 1,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 819,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX traded up $2.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $164.65. The stock had a trading volume of 198,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,000,902. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $123.18 and a 52-week high of $167.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $155.40 and a 200 day moving average of $153.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $18.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 9,571 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 20.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,407 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after buying an additional 1,929 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 11.8% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $984,000 after buying an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,125 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.