Quest Diagnostics (DGX) Upgraded to Hold by Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

According to Zacks, “Quest Diagnostics exited the fourth quarter on a sluggish note. A decline in Diagnostic information services revenues was also disappointing. We are concerned about factors like unfavorable changes in prescription drug monitoring, vitamin D and hepatitis C testing marketplace that can dent growth going forward. Also, a rise in patient concession along with certain reserve adjustments impacted the top line, resulting in a decline in revenue per requisition. Tough competition and reimbursement issues are other concerns. On a brighter note, Quest Diagnostics is refocusing on diagnostic information services wing and disciplined capital deployment. The company’s’ acquisitions and collaborations with hospitals and integrated delivery networks continue to act as major growth drivers. We are upbeat about the company’s strategic partnership with UnitedHealthcare. Overall, in the past three months, the company underperformed its industry.”

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DGX has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $120.00 to $107.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 30th. ValuEngine raised Quest Diagnostics from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 2nd. Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Sunday, December 9th. Credit Suisse Group reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Sunday, December 2nd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $102.82.

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $87.81 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $78.95 and a 12-month high of $116.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 14th. The medical research company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.77% and a return on equity of 15.23%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 15th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 14th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.60%.

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 544 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Doyle Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Spectrum Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Pearl River Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Institutional investors own 85.73% of the company’s stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing information and services in the United States and internationally. The company's Diagnostic Information Services business segment develops and delivers diagnostic testing information and services, such as routine testing, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, gene-based and esoteric testing, anatomic pathology, and other diagnostic information services.

Further Reading: Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)

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For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

Top Warren Buffett Stocks To Own Right Now

tags:JBSS,COO,BIIB,MSFT,

Editors of some top-performing stock-market newsletters are convinced that Warren Buffett is wrong to have sold IBM shares.

I'm referring, of course, to the latest regulatory filing of Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway BRK.A, +0.89%  , BRK.B, +0.56% which reported that it had sold almost all of its IBM stake. This follows another sale of a big block of IBM IBM, -0.68%  stock last year.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks To Own Right Now: John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc.(JBSS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBSS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 21,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,242,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd owned about 0.19% of John B. Sanfilippo & Son at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Max Byerly]

  John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBSS) shares reached a new 52-week high and low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $71.43 and last traded at $70.96, with a volume of 1305 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $69.72.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBSS) CEO Jeffrey T. Sanfilippo sold 8,108 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $575,668.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,053,640. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks To Own Right Now: Cooper Companies, Inc. (COO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) chief economist Jan Hatzius has a message for the markets. Hatzius said in a research note on Monday that U.S. GDP has likely peaked. "The current pace is probably as good as it gets because we expect the impulse from financial conditions to gradually turn more negative," Hatzius said. The European Union slapped America with roughly $3.3 billion in tariffs on U.S. goods. The tariffs, which are in retaliation to the Trump administration's recent steel and aluminum tariffs on the EU, will go into effect in July. They specifically target products like cigarettes, whiskey, denim, and orange juice. Stocks to Watch Today: AVGO, AGN, GOOGL, TSLA Broadcom Ltd. (Nasdaq: AVGO) leads a busy day of earnings reports. Wall Street anticipates the firm will report earnings per share of $4.77 on top of $5.00 billion in revenue. Uncertainty still remains on whether the company will be able to purchase industry rival Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) in a deal that would be the largest technology merger in the history of the markets. Shares of Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL) are under pressure due to more regulatory scrutiny by the European Union. Shares were off slightly this morning as investors digested a report from The Financial Times indicating the EU will hit the firm with a antitrust fine. Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) stock popped nearly 10% Wednesday, crushing short sellers of the stock. Investors betting against the stock lost a collective $1 billion on paper yesterday, according to S3 Partners. This week, founder Elon Musk won a battle to maintain his roles as both CEO and chair. He also provided a boost of optimism to TSLA stock over production expectations for the Model 3 vehicle. Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) shares are up 2.4% thanks to its latest activist investor. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn purchased a small stake in the drug maker at a time when other activist investors are pushing for strategic changes by the company.
• [By Stephan Byrd]

  The Cooper Companies (NYSE:COO) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a buy rating to a hold rating. According to Zacks, “Cooper Companies has recently acquired the assets of The LifeGlobal Group and its affiliates, bolstering its foothold in the in-vitro fertilization (IVF) devices market. Meanwhile, the CooperVision business has been delivering impressive results. A raised guidance for fiscal 2018 looks promising. Notably, Cooper Companies completed the acquisition of Paragon Vision Sciences. This added a leading ortho-k technology to the company’s lens portfolio. Considering the outstanding performance of the stock, we expect Cooper Companies to scale higher in the coming quarters. On the flipside, intense competition in the contact lens space will continue to build pricing pressure. Additionally, escalating debt levels and foreign exchange vulnerability are likely to mar the company’s bottom line. Also, the slashed revenue guidance for fiscal 2018 in CSI segment is discouraging. Cooper has underperformed its industry in a year’s time.”

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Cooper Companies Inc (NYSE:COO) Director Allan E. Rubenstein sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.37, for a total transaction of $398,055.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,155.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

• [By Chris Lange]

  The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Monday was The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NYSE: COO) which traded down 3.7% at $242.09. The stock's 52-week range is $192.24 to $260.26. Volume was nearly 1 million compared to the daily average volume of less than half a million.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Here are some of the news headlines that may have effected Accern Sentiment Analysis’s analysis:

  Get The Cooper Companies alerts: Homeownership Is Dead. The Future Lies in Public Housing. (inthesetimes.com) Form 4 COOPER COMPANIES INC For: May 01 Filed by: White Albert G III (streetinsider.com) Form 4 COOPER COMPANIES INC For: May 01 Filed by: Andrews Brian G (streetinsider.com) North Carolina Medicaid Scandal Broadens on Dem. Gov. Cooper's Watch (spectator.org) Head to Head Contrast: STAAR Surgical (STAA) and The Cooper Companies (COO) (americanbankingnews.com)

  A number of research firms recently commented on COO. Goldman Sachs began coverage on shares of The Cooper Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of The Cooper Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. TheStreet lowered shares of The Cooper Companies from a “b” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 8th. Oppenheimer set a $265.00 price objective on shares of The Cooper Companies and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective (up previously from $277.00) on shares of The Cooper Companies in a research note on Friday, March 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The Cooper Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $264.18.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks To Own Right Now: Biogen Idec Inc(BIIB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close was Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) which traded down over 5% at $288.75. The stock's 52-week range is $249.17 to $370.57. Volume was 3.2 million compared to the daily average volume of 1.7 million.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Traders bought shares of Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) on weakness during trading on Tuesday. $119.44 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $86.88 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $32.56 million into the stock. Of all companies tracked, Biogen had the 26th highest net in-flow for the day. Biogen traded down ($7.15) for the day and closed at $345.41

• [By Chris Lange]

  The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Monday was Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) which traded down nearly 4% at $329.58. The stock's 52-week range is $244.28 to $348.84. Volume was 1.2 million matching the daily average of 1.2 million shares.

• [By Keith Speights]

  Shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) were up 15.2% as of 11:35 a.m. EDT on Friday after the biotech, along with partner Eisai, reported encouraging results from a phase 2 clinical study of BAN2401 in treating Alzheimer's disease. Patients taking BAN2401 achieved statistically significant improvement compared to patients on placebo after 18 months in slowing progression of Alzheimer's disease and in the reduction of amyloid accumulations in the brain.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks To Own Right Now: Microsoft Corporation(MSFT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.GURUFOCUS.COM]

  For the details of Milestone Resources Group Ltd's stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=Milestone+Resources+Group+Ltd

  These are the top 5 holdings of Milestone Resources Group LtdAccenture PLC (ACN) - 762,770 shares, 13.26% of the total portfolio. Microsoft Corp (MSFT) - 1,100,825 shares, 11.54% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 8.69%Alphabet Inc (GOOGL) - 92,032 shares, 11.04% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 9.52%S&P Global Inc (SPGI) - 463,802 shares, 10.05% of the total portfolio. Zoetis Inc (ZTS) - 1,065,914 shares, 9.6
• [By Stephen Mack]

  Ten percent of the portfolio goes to four technology conglomerates that are involved in cloud computing. These are the big players you already know and might already have in your portfolio: Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE), and International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM)

• [By Anders Bylund]

  To be clear, Turtle Beach didn't have much news to share in July. The company did release new lines of gaming-console headsets, and key title Fortnite Battle Royale published a new "season" to keep gamers interested. But neither of these events made much of a difference to Turtle Beach's stock chart. Takeover chatter that painted Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) as a potential suitor triggered a quick 4% rise near the end of the month, but even that spike was largely lost in the general uptrend.

• [By ]

  And is if the onslaught of earnings Wednesday evening and Thursday morning wasn't enough, prepare for another major wave after the closing bell Thursday. Earnings reports are expected from Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) , Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Intel Corp. (INTC) .

Hold V-Guard Industries; target of Rs 205: ICICI Direct

ICICI Direct's research report on V-Guard Industries

V-Guard's Q3FY19 topline grew 14% largely driven by new categories (like kitchen appliances, switchgears), recovery in demand from south regions (contributes ~63% in topline) post floods in Kerala and expansion in new geographies (non-south regions). On product fronts, barring the wire and pump segment, all products recorded strong revenue growth led by water heater (up 17%), stabiliser (up 17%), fan (up 23%) and digital UPS (up 18%). Further, relatively newer categories like kitchen appliances & switchgears segment continue to grow at a higher rate of 45% & 55%, YoY respectively. EBITDA margin stayed under pressure mainly due to volatility in commodity prices and rupee depreciation. However, the company has initiated price hikes (~2-5%) to combat high input costs that would benefit it in coming quarters. Further, ad spends returning to normal 4-4.5% level vs. ~5% would help drive EBITDA margins We introduce FY21E estimates & model revenue, earning CAGR of ~14%, 18%, respectively, in FY18-21E. We believe key trigger for topline growth would be sales improvement of its flagship products while profitability would be driven by gross margin recovery.

Outlook

We believe that at the CMP the stock discounts near term positives of lower working capital requirements and positive free cash flows. At the CMP, the stock is trading at 47x FY20E and 38x FY21E earnings. We roll over our valuation on FY21E and value the stock at 40x FY21E earnings with a revised target price of Rs 205.

For all recommendations report, click here

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Read More First Published on Feb 19, 2019 04:54 pm

Oil Prices Are Poised To Move Higher Into April

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-1127979596&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/1127979596/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Photocredit: Getty

Oil is poised to run higher to late April but is likely to first pull back later in this coming week.

Oil had been unusually weak in view of the rising cycles. Price came within 10 cents of breaking the former January 25th low on the 11th but then rallied more than 8% in a week.

Price reached $55.66 which is significant. This is the 38.2% retracement level of the October-December decline. The passing of this barrier will confirm that the situation has changed and that the prior decline is over. The $65 area appears to be a reasonable target by April.

Chart 1

&l;img class=&q;size-large wp-image-192254&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/greatspeculations/files/2019/02/1-oil-daily-1200x673.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;673&q; data-width=&q;1200&q;&g; Price is about to exceed the 38.2% retracement level.

The next projected turning point is on the 20th. And, the period from the 19th through the 21st has seasonally been the weakest part of this month as we can see in the daily histogram below. This 3-day period will likely lead to a short pullback in the oil price. No important support levels are expected to break; this will be an opportunity to add to long positions.

Chart 2- Daily Histogram for Oil for February

&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-192255&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/greatspeculations/files/2019/02/2-Feb.-histogram.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;278&q; data-width=&q;1174&q;&g; The oil price is likely to decline from the 19th through the 21st.

These bullish factors remain in force:

&l;/p&g;&l;ul&g;&l;li&g;Seasonally, oil is entering the most bullish part of any year&l;/li&g; &l;li&g;The monthly cycle points up&l;/li&g; &l;li&g;Oil was down from late September through late December. When this has occurred in the past, price has been higher three months later (March) in 17 of 21 cases and has been higher four months later in 18 of 22 cases (April). In other words, if oil sells off in the fourth quarter, the seasonal tendency to rally in March-April is enhanced.&l;/li&g; &l;/ul&g;

Chart 3-Oil Price Annual Histogram

&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-192256&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/greatspeculations/files/2019/02/3-ANNUAL-HISTOGRAM.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;275&q; data-width=&q;1141&q;&g; The oil price is moving into a strong seasonal period.

Chart 4- Monthly Cycle

&l;img class=&q;size-large wp-image-192257&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/greatspeculations/files/2019/02/4-Monthly-Oil-1200x317.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;317&q; data-width=&q;1200&q;&g; This cycle rises through the strong months of March and April.

The ratio of 2 ETFs graphed below is a measure of sentiment. The UCO rises by twice the price of oil and the USO rises by one time the price of oil. A high ratio is an indicator of bullish sentiment while a low ratio is an indication of caution. Note that the last high in this ratio was the high in the oil price. The ratio is at a low level, an indication of very reserved optimism toward oil and not representative of a top.

Chart 5-UCO/USO Ratio

&l;img class=&q;size-large wp-image-192258&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/greatspeculations/files/2019/02/5-UCO-USO-1200x546.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;546&q; data-width=&q;1200&q;&g; This sentiment ratio is bullish.

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Cramer's lightning round: Don't sell Disney yet—you'll want to own it long term

The Walt Disney Co.: "Don't sell Disney yet. [CEO] Bob Iger's doing an amazing job. I don't know about this next couple of quarters. He's got to do this big transition with the over-the-top. But I think, long term, you want to own Disney very badly."

American Superconductor Corp.: "I think it's been too hot, frankly. I think we've got to let some go. I don't have that level of conviction up here."

Activision Blizzard Inc.: "Look, they had the bounce. I'm not saying that it was necessarily a bounce that wasn't deserved, because the company is not as bad. But it's now kind of settled in. I think I'd rather own EA on the way up than that, frankly."

PCM Inc.: "To me, that seems like a copycat company. Kind of an online mall. I have to say that I would ka-ching, ka-ching."

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc.: "That's a really hard biotech. When I did my Biotech Bible for TheStreet.com, I did a lot of work on it, but I'm so out of touch with it, I've got to come back. Like many of the biotechs, I can't just say it looks great because I've got to see what's in Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3 and what's about to be approved."

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.: "Oh, man, it's [CEO] Brian Niccol. He has it going. Thank heaven [CFO] Jack Hartung's still there. The ad campaign is brilliant. The food never lost its edge. […] We never gave up on Chipotle."

Cenovus Energy Inc.: "No. I'm [at] the point where I'm not going to recommend anything fossil soon. But that one just had a nice little move up. I would say [ring the register]."

Docusign Inc.: "I like Docusign. I want to have them on this show. There's a very, very smart company. And, look, Ellie Mae just got a bid. Buy, buy, buy."

El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc.: "I like this. I got it wrong. I stuck with it and now we're getting back up. And I've got to tell you [to ring the register]. I can't. I fear this: [the House of Pain]."

Watch the full lightning round here: show chapters Cramer's lightning round: Don't sell Disney yet—you'll want to own it long term    1 Hour Ago | 06:49

Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of Disney.

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