William Blair Issues Pessimistic Forecast for DGX Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Investment analysts at William Blair decreased their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report released on Friday, January 31st. William Blair analyst A. Brackmann now forecasts that the medical research company will post earnings of $2.17 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.18. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $9.71 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q2 2026 earnings at $2.83 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.69 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $10.45 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on DGX. UBS Group lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.77.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $162.51 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $155.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $123.18 and a 52-week high of $167.08. The stock has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.90.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.97%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,080,000 after purchasing an additional 442,835 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $116,018,000 after acquiring an additional 151,365 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,376,000 after acquiring an additional 108,224 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $81,994,000 after acquiring an additional 104,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,407,000 after purchasing an additional 78,980 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.