Zacks Research Expects Higher Earnings for Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research increased their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report released on Thursday, January 9th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the medical research company will earn $9.69 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $9.68. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.90 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q1 2026 earnings at $2.61 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $2.59 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted 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. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, 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 research report on Monday, October 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $151.73 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $165.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $156.79 and a 200 day moving average of $152.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $16.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pensionfund Sabic raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 9,200 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 45.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 18.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 438,977 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $68,144,000 after purchasing an additional 68,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 45.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 54,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,180,000 after purchasing an additional 17,240 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.