Q1 EPS Forecast for Quest Diagnostics Decreased by Analyst

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Analysts at William Blair reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, October 22nd. William Blair analyst A. Brackmann now expects that the medical research company will earn $2.18 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.32. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.89 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q2 2025 earnings at $2.43 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on DGX. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.33.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $158.00 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $121.60 and a one year high of $160.95. The company has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $153.05 and a 200-day moving average of $144.57. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. abrdn plc increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 461,887 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $71,500,000 after purchasing an additional 13,938 shares during the last quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 79.3% in the third quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 6,199 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 2,741 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 748,680 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,621,000 after buying an additional 15,047 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 36,157 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,613,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,657 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.