Quest Diagnostics Inc (DGX) Receives a Buy from Barclays


Barclays analyst Jack Meehan maintained a Buy rating on Quest Diagnostics Inc (DGX) today and set a price target of $114. The company’s shares opened today at $86.04.

Meehan wrote:

“We were surprised there was another leg down in the quarter, though one silver lining is that volume growth of 3.4% appears improved – and the company noted that 2019 is off to a good start. $1.36 was modestly better than our forecast of $1.35. Additionally, Quest had an active 4Q18 of capital deployment, repurchasing $175mm of stock, $200mm towards acquisitions, and $68mm toward dividends. Ultimately, shares now trade at 13x our new 2019 EPS forecast of $6.40, and we believe sentiment is near a trough despite the potential for leverageable share gains in 2019. In our view, structural trends should be at the back of the national labs to consolidate testing share – and this is Quest’s time to shine.”

According to TipRanks.com, Meehan is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 5.9% and a 61.6% success rate. Meehan covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Bio-Rad Laboratories, IQVIA Holdings Inc, and Syneos Health Inc.

Quest Diagnostics Inc has an analyst consensus of Moderate Buy, with a price target consensus of $97.29, a 13.1% upside from current levels. In a report released yesterday, Credit Suisse also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $103 price target.

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Quest Diagnostics Inc’s market cap is currently $11.63B and has a P/E ratio of 13.80. The company has a Price to Book ratio of 2.19.

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Quest Diagnostics, Inc. engages in the provision fo diagnostic testing, information and services. It operates through the Diagnostic Information Services (DIS) and All Other segments. The DIS segment offers diagnostic information services to patients, clinicians, hospitals, health plans, and employers.

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