Zacks Research Comments on Quest Diagnostics Incorporated’s Q2 2026 Earnings (NYSE:DGX)

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research raised their Q2 2026 earnings estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a research note issued on Tuesday, September 24th. Zacks Research analyst M. Mondal now expects that the medical research company will post earnings per share of $2.59 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.58. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.89 per share.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $154.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $159.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,301,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,125 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,207,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 38.8% in the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 8,297 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

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.