Mizuho Increases Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target to $178.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Mizuho from $177.00 to $178.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Mizuho’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 8.91% from the company’s previous close.

DGX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $163.43 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.81. The firm has a market cap of $18.24 billion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $123.18 and a 1-year high of $167.08.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.71 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,139 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.