Zacks Research Expects Lower Earnings for Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Zacks Research lowered their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report issued on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts 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.

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

Several other brokerages have also commented on DGX. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $160.44 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $123.04 and a 12-month high of $162.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.41. The firm has a market cap of $17.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $976,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,697 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Arjuna Capital lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.