Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Expected to Post Q4 2024 Earnings of $2.18 Per Share

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Equities research analysts at William Blair decreased their Q4 2024 earnings estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a research note issued on Tuesday, April 23rd. William Blair analyst A. Brackmann now forecasts that the medical research company will post earnings per share of $2.18 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.30. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.74 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q1 2025 earnings at $2.30 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.47 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.44 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $2.35 EPS.

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

Several other research analysts also recently commented on DGX. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.9 %

DGX stock opened at $134.26 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $119.59 and a one year high of $146.85. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $129.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $140,472,000. Nuance Investments LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $83,070,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,884,000 after purchasing an additional 538,377 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $433,153,000 after purchasing an additional 388,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,342,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a boost 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 currently 38.22%.

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.