Q2 2024 EPS Estimates for Quest Diagnostics Incorporated Reduced by Leerink Partnrs (NYSE:DGX)

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Equities researchers at Leerink Partnrs lowered their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a research report issued on Tuesday, April 23rd. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now expects that the medical research company will post earnings per share of $2.23 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.29. Leerink Partnrs has a “Market Perform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.74 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q4 2024 earnings at $1.92 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $9.31 EPS.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on DGX. TheStreet downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.9 %

DGX stock opened at $134.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $129.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.17. The company has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $146.85.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 19,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,715,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,417 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 1,909 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 6,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $103,560.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,930,712. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.22%.

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.