Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. Quest Diagnostics updated its FY 2025 guidance to 9.550-9.800 EPS.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $164.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $155.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $123.04 and a 1-year high of $167.08.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DGX shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.69.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.