William Blair Cuts Earnings Estimates for Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – William Blair cut their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a report issued on Tuesday, October 22nd. William Blair analyst A. Brackmann now anticipates that the medical research company will earn $2.18 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.32. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.89 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q2 2025 earnings at $2.43 EPS.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on DGX. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $158.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $153.05 and a 200-day moving average of $144.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $121.60 and a 12 month high of $160.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

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.