Zacks Research Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q2 2026 earnings per share estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a report issued on Tuesday, September 24th. Zacks Research analyst M. Mondal now forecasts that the medical research company will post earnings of $2.59 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.58. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.89 per share.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on DGX. StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $154.80 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $151.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.80. The company has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $159.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.38%.

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.