Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Updates FY25 Earnings Guidance

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) issued an update on its FY25 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $9.55-9.80 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $9.71. The company issued revenue guidance of $10.7-10.85 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $10.79 billion.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $167.94 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $18.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $125.42 and a 52 week high of $178.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.48.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,852,680.84. The trade was a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.