Q1 EPS Forecast for Quest Diagnostics Decreased by Analyst

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Research analysts at William Blair cut their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a report released on Friday, January 31st. William Blair analyst A. Brackmann now expects that the medical research company will post earnings of $2.17 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.18. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $9.71 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q2 2026 earnings at $2.83 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.69 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $10.45 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday. Citigroup upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $163.43 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $123.18 and a fifty-two week high of $167.08. The stock has a market cap of $18.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average of $155.40 and a 200-day moving average of $153.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,080,000 after purchasing an additional 442,835 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $133,023,000 after purchasing an additional 113,956 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,376,000 after purchasing an additional 108,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,994,000 after purchasing an additional 104,495 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

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.