Q1 EPS Estimate for Quest Diagnostics Lowered by Analyst

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs cut their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a research note issued on Thursday, January 30th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now anticipates that the medical research company will post earnings per share of $2.21 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.23. Leerink Partnrs has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $9.71 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q2 2025 earnings at $2.61 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.44 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.74 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $10.48 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $11.52 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $12.66 EPS.

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

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday. 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. UBS Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $163.43 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $18.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $155.40 and its 200-day moving average is $153.81. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $123.18 and a 52-week high of $167.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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 last quarter. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

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.