Leerink Partnrs Issues Pessimistic Estimate for DGX Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs cut their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, March 19th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now anticipates that the medical research company will post earnings per share of $2.11 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.21. Leerink Partnrs has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $9.70 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q3 2025 earnings at $2.49 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $2.46 EPS.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%.

DGX has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $166.96 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $125.42 and a 12 month high of $178.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $165.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.64.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $91,138.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,031 shares in the company, valued at $6,737,140.91. This represents a 1.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.61%.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.