What is Zacks Research’s Estimate for DGX FY2025 Earnings?

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, January 9th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the medical research company will post earnings of $9.69 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $9.68. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.90 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q1 2026 earnings at $2.61 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $2.59 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $152.84 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $165.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $17.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.90.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.22 EPS.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after acquiring an additional 6,619 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,653,000 after purchasing an additional 61,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 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.