FY2025 EPS Forecast for Quest Diagnostics Lowered by Analyst

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research dropped their FY2025 EPS estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a research note issued on Wednesday, February 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the medical research company will post earnings of $9.68 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $9.69. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $9.70 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q1 2026 earnings at $2.58 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $2.64 EPS.

DGX has been the topic of several other research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $172.44 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.00. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $123.66 and a 12-month high of $172.91. The firm has a market cap of $19.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,792 shares of company stock worth $465,998 over the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.