Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. Quest Diagnostics updated its FY 2025 guidance to 9.550-9.800 EPS.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock traded up $10.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $166.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,258,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 949,130. The firm has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $167.08. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.43.

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 issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on DGX. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.15.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, 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 approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.