Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. Quest Diagnostics updated its FY 2025 guidance to 9.550-9.800 EPS.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 6.5 %

Shares of DGX traded up $10.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $165.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,194,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 947,040. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $155.42 and its 200 day moving average is $153.43. 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 firm has a market cap of $18.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.90. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $167.08.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.