Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Releases FY25 Earnings Guidance

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) issued an update on its FY25 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $9.55-9.80 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.71. The company issued revenue guidance of $10.7-10.85 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $10.79 billion.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of DGX opened at $172.22 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $125.42 and a 52 week high of $178.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $164.35 and a 200-day moving average of $158.41.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DGX. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eight 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,514 shares of company stock worth $1,634,445 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,000. 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.