Zacks Research Has Strong Estimate for DGX FY2024 Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research boosted their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the medical research company will earn $8.88 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $8.83. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.90 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q4 2024 earnings at $2.19 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.17 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.52 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.50 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.49 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.68 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.60 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $2.62 EPS.

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

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX stock opened at $156.86 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $17.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $153.79 and a 200-day moving average of $147.19. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $123.04 and a 12-month high of $162.59.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

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.