Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) - Share price, News & Analysis

DGX fundamental analysis
Snowflake Score
Valuation	4/6
Future Growth	0/6
Past Performance	4/6
Financial Health	4/6
Dividends	5/6

DGX Stock Overview

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing, information, and services in the United States and internationally.

Rewards

Trading at 56.2% below our estimate of its fair value

Earnings have grown 26.4% per year over the past 5 years

Pays a reliable dividend of 1.87%

Risk Analysis

Earnings are forecast to decline by an average of 0.5% per year for the next 3 years

Has a high level of debt

Significant insider selling over the past 3 months

Quest Diagnostics Competitors

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings

NYSE:LH

US$23.0b

Premier

NasdaqGS:PINC

US$4.4b

Guardant Health

NasdaqGS:GH

US$3.7b

OPKO Health

NasdaqGS:OPK

US$2.1b

Price History & Performance

Summary of all time highs, changes and price drops for Quest Diagnostics
Historical stock prices
Current Share Price	US$141.03
52 Week High	US$174.16
52 Week Low	US$125.77
Beta	1.05
1 Month Change	-0.43%
3 Month Change	7.35%
1 Year Change	7.39%
3 Year Change	43.85%
5 Year Change	30.61%
Change since IPO	3,929.43%

Recent News & Updates

May 12

Investors Should Be Encouraged By Quest Diagnostics' (NYSE:DGX) Returns On Capital

What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? One...

Apr 29

At US$136, Is It Time To Put Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) On Your Watch List?

Today we're going to take a look at the well-established Quest Diagnostics Incorporated ( NYSE:DGX ). The company's...

Shareholder Returns

	DGX	US Healthcare	US Market
7D	3.4%	0.09%	-2.7%
1Y	7.4%	2.5%	-12.9%

Return vs Industry: DGX exceeded the US Healthcare industry which returned 2.5% over the past year.

Return vs Market: DGX exceeded the US Market which returned -12.9% over the past year.

Price Volatility

Is DGX's price volatile compared to industry and market?
DGX volatility
DGX Average Weekly Movement	3.4%
Healthcare Industry Average Movement	10.6%
Market Average Movement	7.8%
10% most volatile stocks in US Market	16.8%
10% least volatile stocks in US Market	2.9%

Stable Share Price: DGX is less volatile than 75% of US stocks over the past 3 months, typically moving +/- 3% a week.

Volatility Over Time: DGX's weekly volatility (3%) has been stable over the past year.

About the Company

Founded	Employees	CEO	Website
1967	44,500	Steve Rusckowski	https://www.questdiagnostics.com

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing, information, and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine testing, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services. It offers diagnostic information services primarily under the Quest Diagnostics brand, as well as under the AmeriPath, Dermpath Diagnostics, ExamOne, and Quanum brands to patients, clinicians, hospitals, independent delivery networks, health plans, employers, direct contract entities, and accountable care organizations through a network of laboratories, patient service centers, phlebotomists in physician offices, call centers and mobile paramedics, nurses, and other health and wellness professionals.

Quest Diagnostics Fundamentals Summary

How do Quest Diagnostics's earnings and revenue compare to its market cap?
DGX fundamental statistics
Market Cap	US$16.55b
Earnings (TTM)	US$1.87b
Revenue (TTM)	US$10.68b

8.8x

P/E Ratio

1.5x

P/S Ratio

Is DGX overvalued?

See Fair Value and valuation analysis

Earnings & Revenue

Key profitability statistics from the latest earnings report
DGX income statement (TTM)
Revenue	US$10.68b
Cost of Revenue	US$6.57b
Gross Profit	US$4.11b
Other Expenses	US$2.23b
Earnings	US$1.87b

Last Reported Earnings

Mar 31, 2022

Next Earnings Date

n/a

Earnings per share (EPS)	15.97
Gross Margin	38.45%
Net Profit Margin	17.55%
Debt/Equity Ratio	61.4%

How did DGX perform over the long term?

See historical performance and comparison

Dividends

1.9%

Current Dividend Yield

16%

Payout Ratio

Does DGX pay a reliable dividends?

See DGX dividend history and benchmarks

When do you need to buy DGX by to receive an upcoming dividend?
Quest Diagnostics dividend dates
Ex Dividend Date	Jul 05 2022
Dividend Pay Date	Jul 20 2022
Days until Ex dividend	44 days
Days until Dividend pay date	59 days

Does DGX pay a reliable dividends?

See DGX dividend history and benchmarks

Valuation

Is Quest Diagnostics undervalued compared to its fair value and its price relative to the market?

Valuation Score

4/6

Valuation Score 4/6

Below Fair Value
Significantly Below Fair Value
PE vs Industry
PE vs Market
PEG Ratio
PB vs Industry

>50%

Undervalued compared to fair value

Share Price vs. Fair Value

Below Fair Value: DGX ($141.03) is trading below our estimate of fair value ($321.94)

Significantly Below Fair Value: DGX is trading below fair value by more than 20%.

Price To Earnings Ratio

PE vs Industry: DGX is good value based on its PE Ratio (8.8x) compared to the US Healthcare industry average (19x).

PE vs Market: DGX is good value based on its PE Ratio (8.8x) compared to the US market (15.3x).

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

PEG Ratio: DGX's earnings are forecast to decline next year, so we can't calculate its PEG ratio.

Price to Book Ratio

PB vs Industry: DGX's PB Ratio (2.6x) is in line with the US Healthcare industry average.

Future Growth

How is Quest Diagnostics forecast to perform in the next 1 to 3 years based on estimates from 14 analysts?

Future Growth Score

0/6

Future Growth Score 0/6

Earnings vs Savings Rate
Earnings vs Market
High Growth Earnings
Revenue vs Market
High Growth Revenue
Future ROE

-0.5%

Forecasted annual earnings growth

Earnings and Revenue Growth Forecasts

Analyst Future Growth Forecasts

Earnings vs Savings Rate: DGX's earnings are forecast to decline over the next 3 years (-0.5% per year).

Earnings vs Market: DGX's earnings are forecast to decline over the next 3 years (-0.5% per year).

High Growth Earnings: DGX's earnings are forecast to decline over the next 3 years.

Revenue vs Market: DGX's revenue (0.5% per year) is forecast to grow slower than the US market (7.8% per year).

High Growth Revenue: DGX's revenue (0.5% per year) is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Earnings per Share Growth Forecasts

Future Return on Equity

Future ROE: DGX's Return on Equity is forecast to be low in 3 years time (14.7%).

Past Performance

How has Quest Diagnostics performed over the past 5 years?

Past Performance Score

4/6

Past Performance Score 4/6

Quality Earnings
Growing Profit Margin
Earnings Trend
Accelerating Growth
Earnings vs Industry
High ROE

26.4%

Historical annual earnings growth

Earnings and Revenue History

Quality Earnings: DGX has high quality earnings.

Growing Profit Margin: DGX's current net profit margins (17.5%) are higher than last year (17.4%).

Past Earnings Growth Analysis

Earnings Trend: DGX's earnings have grown significantly by 26.4% per year over the past 5 years.

Accelerating Growth: DGX's earnings growth over the past year (4.5%) is below its 5-year average (26.4% per year).

Earnings vs Industry: DGX earnings growth over the past year (4.5%) underperformed the Healthcare industry 8.8%.

Return on Equity

High ROE: DGX's Return on Equity (30.2%) is considered high.

Financial Health

How is Quest Diagnostics's financial position?

Financial Health Score

4/6

Financial Health Score 4/6

Short Term Liabilities
Long Term Liabilities
Debt Level
Reducing Debt
Debt Coverage
Interest Coverage

Financial Position Analysis

Short Term Liabilities: DGX's short term assets ($2.5B) exceed its short term liabilities ($1.7B).

Long Term Liabilities: DGX's short term assets ($2.5B) do not cover its long term liabilities ($5.2B).

Debt to Equity History and Analysis

Debt Level: DGX's net debt to equity ratio (50.4%) is considered high.

Reducing Debt: DGX's debt to equity ratio has reduced from 80.3% to 61.4% over the past 5 years.

Debt Coverage: DGX's debt is well covered by operating cash flow (49.7%).

Interest Coverage: DGX's interest payments on its debt are well covered by EBIT (15.3x coverage).

Balance Sheet

Dividend

What is Quest Diagnostics's current dividend yield, its reliability and sustainability?

Dividend Score

5/6

Dividend Score 5/6

Notable Dividend
High Dividend
Stable Dividend
Growing Dividend
Earnings Coverage
Future Dividend Coverage

1.87%

Current Dividend Yield

Upcoming Dividend Payment

Dividend Yield vs Market

Notable Dividend: DGX's dividend (1.87%) is higher than the bottom 25% of dividend payers in the US market (1.58%).

High Dividend: DGX's dividend (1.87%) is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the US market (4.11%).

Stability and Growth of Payments

Stable Dividend: DGX's dividends per share have been stable in the past 10 years.

Growing Dividend: DGX's dividend payments have increased over the past 10 years.

Earnings Payout to Shareholders

Earnings Coverage: With its low payout ratio (16.3%), DGX's dividend payments are well covered by earnings.

Cash Payout to Shareholders

Cash Flow Coverage: With its low cash payout ratio (19.3%), DGX's dividend payments are well covered by cash flows.

Discover strong dividend paying companies

Management

How experienced are the management team and are they aligned to shareholders interests?

9.0yrs

Average management tenure

CEO

Steve Rusckowski (64 yo)

10yrs

Tenure

US$14,557,818

Compensation

Mr. Stephen H. Rusckowski, also known as Steve, has been the Chief Executive Officer, President and Director of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated since May 1, 2012 and has been its Chairman since January 1, 2...

CEO Compensation Analysis

Compensation vs Market: Steve's total compensation ($USD14.56M) is about average for companies of similar size in the US market ($USD13.34M).

Compensation vs Earnings: Steve's compensation has been consistent with company performance over the past year.

Leadership Team

Experienced Management: DGX's management team is seasoned and experienced (9 years average tenure).

Board Members

Experienced Board: DGX's board of directors are considered experienced (8.1 years average tenure).

Ownership

Who are the major shareholders and have insiders been buying or selling?

Insider Trading Volume

Insider Buying: DGX insiders have only sold shares in the past 3 months.

Recent Insider Transactions

Ownership Breakdown

Dilution of Shares: Shareholders have not been meaningfully diluted in the past year.

Data	Last Updated (UTC time)
Company Analysis	2022/05/21 00:00
End of Day Share Price	2022/05/20 00:00
Earnings	2022/03/31
Annual Earnings	2021/12/31