Q3 EPS Estimates for Quest Diagnostics Cut by Zacks Research

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q3 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note issued on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the medical research company will post earnings of $2.61 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.62. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics' current full-year earnings is $8.90 per share.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on DGX. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $3.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $160.44. The stock had a trading volume of 2,725,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 924,085. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $162.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.26.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $70,080,000 after acquiring an additional 442,835 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $48,783,000. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,853,151,000 after acquiring an additional 345,754 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $37,993,000 after acquiring an additional 238,007 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.