FY2025 EPS Forecast for Quest Diagnostics Reduced by Analyst

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Zacks Research cut their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a report issued on Wednesday, February 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the medical research company will post earnings per share of $9.68 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $9.69. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $9.70 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q1 2026 earnings at $2.58 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $2.64 EPS.

Several other analysts have also commented on DGX. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $173.99 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $157.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.17. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $123.66 and a 1-year high of $175.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted 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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,592 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,800,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 48.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,979 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,934 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 23.7% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,601,000 after buying an additional 2,852 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total transaction of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,792 shares of company stock worth $465,998 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio 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.