Analysts Set Expectations for Quest Diagnostics Incorporated’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:DGX)

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Analysts at Leerink Partnrs reduced their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 23rd. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now anticipates that the medical research company will post earnings per share of $2.18 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.35. Leerink Partnrs currently 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’ FY2024 earnings at $8.37 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $10.05 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $10.98 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $11.97 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $135.47 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $147.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $128.89 and its 200 day moving average is $131.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,067,904.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.