Q1 EPS Forecast for Quest Diagnostics Decreased by Analyst

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Research analysts at William Blair reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a report released on Friday, January 31st. William Blair analyst A. Brackmann now anticipates that the medical research company will earn $2.17 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast 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.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $163.43 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $123.18 and a twelve month high of $167.08.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $355,000. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,653,000 after acquiring an additional 61,469 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is 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.