Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Releases FY25 Earnings Guidance

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) issued an update on its FY25 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $9.55-9.80 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.71. The company issued revenue guidance of $10.7-10.85 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $10.79 billion.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $172.22 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $125.42 and a 12 month high of $178.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.41.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total value of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. The trade was a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,514 shares of company stock worth $1,634,445. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.