Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of 11.050-11.250 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 10.760. The company issued revenue guidance of $12.0 billion-$12.1 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $11.9 billion.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DGX. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.09.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 8.4%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $227.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.58. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $165.78 and a 52-week high of $237.78. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $202.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $197.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Quest Diagnostics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quest Diagnostics reported Q2 revenue of $3.04 billion, up 10.2% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $3.12, topping Wall Street estimates. Quest Diagnostics Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results; Raises Revenue and EPS Guidance for Full Year 2026
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised full-year 2026 guidance, now expecting adjusted EPS of $11.05 to $11.25 and revenue of about $11.95 billion to $12.05 billion, signaling confidence in continued demand. Quest Diagnostics raises annual forecast on testing demand
• Positive Sentiment: Investors also appeared encouraged by commentary around strong preventive-health testing trends and growth in the company’s diagnostics business, which supports the stock’s upside move. Americans Are Buying More Preventive Health Tests—and Quest Diagnostics Is Winning

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $323,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 130.8% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 644 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 706 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.