Q3 2024 EPS Estimates for Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Decreased by Zacks Research

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a report released on Monday, August 5th. Zacks Research analyst M. Mondal now forecasts that the medical research company will earn $2.26 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.29. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.89 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q4 2024 earnings at $2.17 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.16 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $2.58 EPS.

DGX has been the subject of several other reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $149.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $141.81 and a 200 day moving average of $135.03. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $151.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 226,598 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,017,000 after buying an additional 6,230 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.0% during the second quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 13,014 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,781,000 after buying an additional 2,430 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 142.0% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,309 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 35,214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% in the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.