Leerink Partnrs Has Negative Outlook of DGX FY2024 Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Research analysts at Leerink Partnrs decreased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report issued on Friday, November 22nd. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now expects that the medical research company will earn $8.87 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate 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.

DGX has been the topic of several other reports. Mizuho raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $163.59 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $154.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.37. The stock has a market cap of $18.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $123.04 and a 52-week high of $165.10. 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 (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.