Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 11.050-11.250 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 10.760. The company issued revenue guidance of $12.0 billion-$12.1 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $11.9 billion.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $232.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:DGX opened at $228.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.58. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $165.78 and a twelve month high of $237.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 11.15 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Quest Diagnostics

Here are the key news stories impacting Quest Diagnostics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quest Diagnostics posted Q2 results that beat Wall Street expectations on both revenue and earnings, helped by stronger demand for routine diagnostic and preventive testing. The company also raised its full-year 2026 outlook, which investors are reading as evidence that growth is holding up well. Article: Quest Diagnostics Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results; Raises Revenue and EPS Guidance for Full Year 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target on DGX to $260 and kept an outperform rating, signaling confidence that the company can still outperform from here. Article: Quest Diagnostics price target raised by Mizuho
• Positive Sentiment: Truist also lifted its target to $250, while Robert W. Baird increased its target to $255, reflecting continued analyst optimism after the earnings beat and raised guidance. Article: Quest Diagnostics price target raised by Truist Financial Corporation
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market commentary pieces highlighted DGX as a momentum stock and noted the shares recently reached a 52-week high. That supports bullish sentiment, but these articles are mostly follow-up coverage rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Article: Are You Looking for a Top Momentum Pick? Why Quest Diagnostics (DGX) Is a Great Choice

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at about $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after buying an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,341,000 after buying an additional 2,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.