Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.13 EPS

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The medical research company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics updated its FY 2026 guidance to 10.630-10.830 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Quest Diagnostics’ conference call:

• Quest delivered a strong Q1 — revenues up 9.2% (organic +9%) and adjusted EPS up ~13% to $2.50 — and raised full‑year guidance to $11.78–$11.90B in revenue and $10.63–$10.83 in adjusted EPS.
• Growth was broad‑based across physician, hospital and consumer channels, with collaborations (Corewell, Fresenius) contributing ~7% of organic volume and specialty offerings like AD‑Detect more than doubling year‑over‑year.
• Management highlighted operational gains from automation and AI — including a ~40% productivity lift for AI‑assisted customer‑service agents and ~350k uses of the Quest AI Companion — which supported margin expansion and adjusted operating income.
• Cash from operations fell to $278M (from $314M) and guidance includes ongoing investments and costs (≈$550M capex, a ~<$0.25 EPS drag from Project Nova this year) plus a $7–$10M headwind from elevated fuel costs.
• Regulatory and reimbursement uncertainty remains a wildcard — Quest is preparing for the PAMA data submission and notes the RESULTS Act or CMS data collection could materially affect 2027 Medicare rates, while CMS’s CRUSH initiative was not viewed as a material exposure for Quest today.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $203.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.66. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $164.65 and a twelve month high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 6th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 38.01%.

Key Stories Impacting Quest Diagnostics

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat and management raised full‑year 2026 guidance — revenue and adjusted EPS topped expectations, with management citing resilient routine testing demand and strong organic growth. This is the core bullish catalyst. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $230 and moved to an “overweight” stance, signaling upside versus the current price and supporting buy-side interest. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Other firms (Robert W. Baird, UBS, Truist) lifted price targets (to $229, $220 and $225 respectively), reflecting analysts’ increased confidence after the quarter — these raises help underpin valuation support. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media pieces highlight DGX as a momentum/structural story (Zacks, Yahoo) because of recurring consumer testing, partnerships and AI/advanced diagnostics; useful for longer‑term thesis but not an immediate price catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and deep‑dives provide color on organic volume strength and margin dynamics—helpful for modelling but incremental vs. the headline beat. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider and institutional selling was flagged in market commentary (multiple insider sales and large fund position cuts noted), which can offset buying from earnings momentum and pressure the stock short term. Article Title

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $1,146,115.18. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,841,227.62. This represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $7,744,628.97. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,718 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.54.

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.