Leerink Partnrs Analysts Reduce Earnings Estimates for Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs lowered their Q1 2024 EPS estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a report released on Friday, April 5th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now anticipates that the medical research company will earn $1.84 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.85. Leerink Partnrs has a “Market Perform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.75 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q2 2024 earnings at $2.29 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $2.35 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $2.22 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.22 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $10.10 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $11.07 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $12.13 EPS.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share.

DGX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. TheStreet downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.18.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $130.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $127.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.51. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $148.62. The company has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 37.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $103,560.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,930,712. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 19,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,715,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $753,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,417 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 1,909 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.