Leerink Partnrs Has Negative Outlook of DGX FY2024 Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Analysts at Leerink Partnrs dropped their FY2024 earnings estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a report released on Tuesday, October 22nd. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now anticipates that the medical research company will post earnings of $8.90 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $8.98. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.89 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q4 2024 earnings at $2.20 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.24 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.59 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.48 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.38 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $12.60 EPS.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis.

DGX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $155.04 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $160.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $153.12 and its 200 day moving average is $144.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,697 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 24.7% during the first quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 389 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% in the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.8% in the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,312 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.