FY2024 EPS Estimate for Quest Diagnostics Reduced by Analyst

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Research analysts at Leerink Partnrs decreased their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report issued on Tuesday, October 22nd. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now expects that the medical research company will post earnings of $8.90 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $8.98. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.89 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q4 2024 earnings at $2.20 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.24 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.59 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.48 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.38 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $12.60 EPS.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.33.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.6 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $158.00 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $121.60 and a one year high of $160.95. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $153.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $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. The company has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $48,783,000. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,993,000 after acquiring an additional 238,007 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,028,000 after acquiring an additional 206,640 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related 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 value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company 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 of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.