Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 10.630-10.830 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 10.620. The company issued revenue guidance of $11.8 billion-$11.9 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $11.8 billion.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $196.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $200.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.84. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $160.02 and a fifty-two week high of $213.50. The company has a market cap of $21.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.45, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.66.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 6th were issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 6th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.31%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Barclays raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total value of $1,155,048.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,137,724. This trade represents a 26.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total value of $538,372.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at $2,753,523.26. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 89.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 201 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 156.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 279 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.