Equities Analysts Set Expectations for DGX Q4 Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q4 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note issued to investors on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the medical research company will earn $2.58 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.47. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $9.70 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics’ Q1 2027 earnings at $2.54 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on DGX. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore set a $220.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $204.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $157.20 and a 52-week high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.23 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.57%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total value of $196,227.14. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,838 shares in the company, valued at $3,244,097.54. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,111 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total value of $227,566.13. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 38,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,859,531.93. This represents a 2.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,164 shares of company stock valued at $1,872,363. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.