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

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) updated its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 9.550-9.800 for the period, compared to the consensus 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 Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of DGX opened at $166.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $165.18 and its 200 day moving average is $158.61. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $125.42 and a fifty-two week high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. 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 1.92%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755 in the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.