Leerink Partnrs Issues Pessimistic Forecast for DGX Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Analysts at Leerink Partnrs decreased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report issued on Friday, November 22nd. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now expects that the medical research company will post earnings of $8.87 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $8.90. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.90 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q4 2024 earnings at $2.17 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.23 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.68 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $11.47 EPS.

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

DGX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $162.49 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.63. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $165.32.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value 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 trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.