Zacks Research Has Positive Forecast for DGX FY2024 Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research lifted their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a research report issued on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the medical research company will post earnings per share of $8.88 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $160.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $153.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $162.59.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 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.