Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Releases FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) issued an update on its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 9.550-9.800 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 9.710. The company issued revenue guidance of $10.7 billion-$10.9 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $10.8 billion.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $166.96 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $125.42 and a one year high of $178.87. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $165.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.60. The company has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share 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%. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on DGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup cut 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. Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. This represents a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.