Leerink Partnrs Issues Negative Estimate for DGX Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Leerink Partnrs cut their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, March 19th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now expects that the medical research company will earn $2.11 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.21. Leerink Partnrs currently 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.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.38.

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Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX traded down $0.49 on Monday, reaching $166.13. 871,932 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,390. The stock has a market cap of $18.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $125.42 and a 12 month high of $178.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (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%.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $789,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $6,479,890. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. This trade represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

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.