Fact based stock research
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX)

US74834L1008

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

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Quest Diagnostics stock research in summary

questdiagnostics.com


ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 47 (worse than 53% compared with investment alternatives), Quest Diagnostics (Health Care Services, USA) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Quest Diagnostics are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 84 (better than 84% of alternatives), are safely financed (Safety Rank of 58, which means low debt burdens), but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 15). ...read more


RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 47, is a hold recommendation based on Quest Diagnostics's financial characteristics. As the company Quest Diagnostics's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 84) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 15) while being safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 58), it may be a safer investment because companies with low debt can better withstand times of crises. Yet the good value, better than 84% of comparable companies, may also indicate that the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity and the downside is limited due to below-average financing risks. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more


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Country USA
Industry Health Care Services
Index Dividends USA, Diversity USA, D.J. US Health Care, S&P 500
Size class X-Large

This stock has achievements: Top 10 Stock.

21-Mar-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.




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Research History: Quest Diagnostics

RESEARCH HISTORY 2021 2022 2023 2024
VALUE
VALUE
GROWTH
GROWTH
SAFETY
SAFETY
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT
360° VIEW
360° VIEW

Most recent update of the stock research: 21-Mar-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Sep-2023. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better Quest Diagnostics is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 47 (worse than 53% compared with investment alternatives), Quest Diagnostics (Health Care Services, USA) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Quest Diagnostics are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 84 (better than 84% of alternatives), are safely financed (Safety Rank of 58, which means low debt burdens), but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 15). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 47, is a hold recommendation based on Quest Diagnostics's financial characteristics. As the company Quest Diagnostics's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 84) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 15) while being safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 58), it may be a safer investment because companies with low debt can better withstand times of crises. Yet the good value, better than 84% of comparable companies, may also indicate that the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity and the downside is limited due to below-average financing risks. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

RESEARCH HISTORY 2021 2022 2023 2024
VALUE
VALUE
GROWTH
GROWTH
SAFETY
SAFETY
COMBINED
COMBINED

Last update of combined financial performance: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of Quest Diagnostics the better the performance.


Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 84 (better than 84% compared with alternatives) for 2024, Quest Diagnostics shares are significantly less expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators above average for Quest Diagnostics. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price to earnings, P/E ratio) is 69 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 69% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Quest Diagnostics's profit levels. The same is valid for the expected Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Capital Rank of 53, and for Dividend Yield with a Dividend Yield Rank of 94. But, compared with other companies in the same industry, the stock price is higher than average as regards expected revenues; only 74% of all competitors have an even higher stock price as regards to sales revenues (a Price-to-Sales Rank of 26). Profits, the level of invested capital, and dividend policy suggest that this stock is attractively priced. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 84, is a buy recommendation based on Quest Diagnostics's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Since it is on the expensive side for Price-to-Sales, it may mean that Quest Diagnostics has pricing power in its distribution market because it can charge higher prices than its competitors. If this is the case, all four value indicators are positive signals for purchasing Quest Diagnostics shares. 9. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision. ...read more


VALUE METRICS 2021 2022 2023 2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE

Last update of Value Rank: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of Quest Diagnostics; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.


Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 15 (better than 15% compared with alternatives), Quest Diagnostics shows one of the most restricted growth dynamics in its industry. There is little momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for Quest Diagnostics. Sales Growth has a below market rank of 10, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 90% of its competitors. The same is valid for Capital Growth, with a rank of 42, and Profit Growth, with a rank of 25. Currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 75% of its competitors). Only shareholders are optimistic. Stock Returns are above average at a rank of 50, which means that the stock returns have recently been above 50% of alternative investments. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 15, is a sell recommendation for growth and momentum investors. That picture may be the result for a company that has reached the bottom. All went south for Quest Diagnostics, and it still looks bad, but some investors already see light at the end of the tunnel, rewarding the stock with recent above-market stock returns. It could also mean that investors are correcting an overreaction to negative news. If that were the case, the positive stock returns are not yet a sign of recovery. Investors should look closely at the Value and Sentiment indicators before they make a stock purchasing decision, because growth is unlikely to be the driving argument behind this investment. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance is low here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS 2021 2022 2023 2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH

Last update of Growth Rank: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of Quest Diagnostics.


Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 58 (better than 58% compared with alternatives), the company Quest Diagnostics has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of Quest Diagnostics is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with just one indicator above average for Quest Diagnostics. Liquidity is at 67, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 67% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is riskier at a rank of 38, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 62% of its competitors. Leverage is also high at a rank of 43, which means that the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 57% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 58 (better than 58% compared with alternatives), Quest Diagnostics has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. High Leverage (a low Obermatt Leverage Rank) is good in good times, because it usually indicates that shareholders get higher returns. The good Liquidity performance of the company is an indicator that this is the case. However, if you expect an economic downturn, you may stay clear of this stock because they have an above-average debt level that needs refinancing soon. If the company is sailing with good winds, as may be visible from the Growth and Sentiment performance, the refinancing risk may be lower than the low Refinancing rank suggests. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS 2021 2022 2023 2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE
REFINANCING
REFINANCING
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY

Last update of Safety Rank: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of Quest Diagnostics and the more cash is available to service its debt.


Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT 2021 2022 2023 2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for Quest Diagnostics.
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Stock analysis by the purely fact based Obermatt Method for Quest Diagnostics from March 21, 2024.

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