Leerink Partnrs Has Pessimistic View of DGX FY2024 Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Research analysts at Leerink Partnrs cut their FY2024 EPS estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a note issued to investors on Friday, November 22nd. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now anticipates that the medical research company will earn $8.87 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $8.90. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.90 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q4 2024 earnings at $2.17 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.23 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.68 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $11.47 EPS.

DGX has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays increased their price target 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, October 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $162.49 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $165.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.63.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced 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 return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. This represents a 14.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.32%.

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.