Q3 EPS Estimate for Quest Diagnostics Lowered by Analyst

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the medical research company will earn $2.61 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.62. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.90 per share.

DGX has been the subject of several other reports. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of DGX opened at $160.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $162.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $153.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.26. The firm has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. This represents a 14.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.32%.

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.