FY2024 EPS Forecast for Quest Diagnostics Lifted by Analyst

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a report released on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the medical research company will post earnings of $8.88 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast 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 released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $160.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $153.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.26. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $162.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,080,000 after purchasing an additional 442,835 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $48,783,000. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,853,151,000 after acquiring an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,993,000 after acquiring an additional 238,007 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

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.