Quest Diagnostics (DGX) Tops Q3 Earnings, Revenues In Line

If you are a frequent customer of commercial laboratory testing services in North America, you probably have been offered one or more diagnostic products of one of its leading providers– Quest Diagnostics Inc. DGX. Apart from the U.S., this company provides its laboratory services in several international markets including parts of India, England, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

Currently, Quest Diagnostics has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell)but that could change following its strong third quarter 2017 earnings report which has just released. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. We have highlighted some of the key details from the just-released announcement below:

Earnings: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current quarter is $1.35 per share, over the last 30 days. Quest Diagnostics’ third quarter adjusted earnings of $1.39 per share (up 1.5% year-over-year) has surpassed this estimate by 2.9%.

Revenues: Quest Diagnostics posted revenues of $1.93 billion in the reported quarter, up 2.4% year-over-year and at par with the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues.

Key Stats: Quest Diagnostics’ volume, measured by the number of requisitions, increased 1.6% versus the prior year’s volume. However, revenue per requisition also increased 1.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Major Factors: The company delivered solid growth in the third quarter with gains in revenues and earnings per share despite severe weather challenges. Quest Diagnostics is successfully executing its two-point strategy of accelerating growth and driving operational excellence. Growth in the quarter was led by strategic collaborations with hospital health systems and several new acquisitions. Recently it has announced a strategic relationship with Cleveland Clinic that includes the acquisition of Cleveland HeartLab. Considering hurricanes related financial impact and recent acquisitions, the company’s management has revised its guidance for full year 2017.

Stock Price: So far, market seems to be not-so-happy with Quest Diagnostics’ third-quarter results. In pre-market trading following the earnings release, the company's shares are slightly down (nearly -0.14%).

Check back later for our full write up on this Quest Diagnostics earnings report later!

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