Leerink Partnrs Has Negative Forecast for DGX Q1 Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Analysts at Leerink Partnrs dropped their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report released on Wednesday, March 19th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now expects that the medical research company will post earnings of $2.11 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.21. Leerink Partnrs currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $9.70 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q3 2025 earnings at $2.49 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $2.46 EPS.

DGX has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $167.35 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $125.42 and a 1 year high of $178.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $165.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS 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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 98.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 18,967 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 9,396 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,079,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 36,441 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,657,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 708,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $109,933,000 after acquiring an additional 12,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth $2,292,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

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.