Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Issues FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) issued an update on its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 9.550-9.800 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 9.710. The company issued revenue guidance of $10.7 billion-$10.9 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $10.8 billion.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $166.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. 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 one year low of $125.42 and a one year high of $178.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $164.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.53.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.38.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 in the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.