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Quest Diagnostics (DGX) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
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Quest Diagnostics (DGX - Free Report) closed at $114.49 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.74% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.83%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.74%.
Heading into today, shares of the medical laboratory operator had gained 3.65% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's loss of 1.64% and the S&P 500's loss of 4.83% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from DGX as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, DGX is projected to report earnings of $3.57 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 102.84%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $2.74 billion, up 40.06% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $8.62 per share and revenue of $8.69 billion. These totals would mark changes of +31.4% and +12.44%, respectively, from last year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for DGX. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.31% higher. DGX is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
In terms of valuation, DGX is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 13.18. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 39.26, so we one might conclude that DGX is trading at a discount comparatively.
We can also see that DGX currently has a PEG ratio of 0.77. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare was holding an average PEG ratio of 3.16 at yesterday's closing price.
The Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 27, putting it in the top 11% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Quest Diagnostics (DGX) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
Quest Diagnostics (DGX - Free Report) closed at $114.49 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.74% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.83%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.74%.
Heading into today, shares of the medical laboratory operator had gained 3.65% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's loss of 1.64% and the S&P 500's loss of 4.83% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from DGX as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, DGX is projected to report earnings of $3.57 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 102.84%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $2.74 billion, up 40.06% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $8.62 per share and revenue of $8.69 billion. These totals would mark changes of +31.4% and +12.44%, respectively, from last year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for DGX. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.31% higher. DGX is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
In terms of valuation, DGX is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 13.18. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 39.26, so we one might conclude that DGX is trading at a discount comparatively.
We can also see that DGX currently has a PEG ratio of 0.77. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare was holding an average PEG ratio of 3.16 at yesterday's closing price.
The Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 27, putting it in the top 11% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.