Coming Soon: Quest Diagnostics Earnings

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Quest Diagnostics (NYS: DGX) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 19. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Quest Diagnostics' revenue will improve 2.0% and EPS will improve 4.5%.

The average estimate for revenue is $1.94 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.17.


Revenue details
Last quarter, Quest Diagnostics notched revenue of $1.94 billion. GAAP reported sales were 6.3% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.82 billion.

anImage
anImage

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $1.07. GAAP EPS were $0.99 for Q1 compared to -$0.33 per share for the prior-year quarter.

anImage
anImage

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 42.5%, 220 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 16.5%, 100 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 8.2%, 1,120 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
The full year's average estimate for revenue is $7.71 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.59.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 547 members out of 580 rating the stock outperform, and 33 members rating it underperform. Among 181 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 174 give Quest Diagnostics a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Quest Diagnostics is hold, with an average price target of $61.53.

The article Coming Soon: Quest Diagnostics Earnings originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Quest Diagnostics. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2012 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Advertisement