Zacks Research Issues Positive Estimate for DGX Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Zacks Research raised their Q3 2026 EPS estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a report issued on Wednesday, September 9th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the medical research company will post earnings per share of $2.83 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.82. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $11.15 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ FY2027 earnings at $11.73 EPS.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.62 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $232.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Argus set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.31.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $235.68 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $171.18 and a twelve month high of $247.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $229.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.00.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total transaction of $5,513,005.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,130,482.27. This represents a 37.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,585.30. This represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,277 shares of company stock worth $8,316,493. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,718 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing used to help diagnose, monitor and manage diseases and other health conditions, serving physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers, government agencies and individual consumers.

Its services include routine blood and urine testing, advanced and esoteric diagnostics, molecular and genetic testing, anatomic pathology, cancer testing, drug screening and wellness-related assessments.