Leerink Partnrs Issues Negative Estimate for DGX Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs reduced their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, January 30th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now expects that the medical research company will post earnings of $2.21 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.23. Leerink Partnrs currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.90 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.00.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $162.77 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $155.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $123.04 and a 1-year high of $167.08.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,080,000 after acquiring an additional 442,835 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,376,000 after purchasing an additional 108,224 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,994,000 after purchasing an additional 104,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,407,000 after buying an additional 78,980 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.