Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Updates FY25 Earnings Guidance

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) updated its FY25 earnings guidance on Wednesday. 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $167.94 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $125.42 and a twelve month high of $178.87. The company has a market cap of $18.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $164.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders 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 boost 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $789,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,479,890. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 71,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,109,826.76. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.