Zacks Research Has Positive Forecast for DGX Q3 Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research raised Quest Diagnostics’ Q3 2026 EPS estimate to $2.82 from $2.79 and lifted several future-year forecasts, including FY2027 to $11.71 and FY2028 to $12.90.
• Quest Diagnostics recently reported Q2 EPS of $3.12, beating expectations by $0.30, while revenue rose 10.2% year over year to $3.04 billion. Its FY2026 guidance remains $11.05–$11.25 per share.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, payable October 21 to shareholders of record October 6, representing an annualized yield of approximately 1.5%.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q3 2026 EPS estimates for Quest Diagnostics in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the medical research company will earn $2.82 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.79. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics' current full-year earnings is $11.15 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Quest Diagnostics' Q4 2026 earnings at $2.71 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $11.15 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.72 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $2.99 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $3.10 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.90 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $11.71 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $3.10 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $3.30 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $12.90 EPS.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. 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.

DGX has been the subject of several other reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Argus set a $260.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $236.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market cap of $26.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.56. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $214.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $202.96. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $171.18 and a 52 week high of $240.13.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Key Financial Inc grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% during the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. This represents a 13.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Key Headlines Impacting Quest Diagnostics

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple EPS forecasts, including estimates for Q3 and Q4 2026, Q1–Q3 2027, FY2027, Q1–Q2 2028 and FY2028. The firm lifted its FY2026 estimate to $11.15 from $10.66, FY2027 to $11.71 from $11.50, and FY2028 to $12.90 from $12.50. These revisions imply confidence in Quest Diagnostics’ earnings growth beyond the current year.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks increased its Q3 2026 EPS estimate to $2.82 from $2.79, Q4 2026 to $2.71 from $2.60, Q1 2027 to $2.72 from $2.62, Q2 2027 to $2.99 from $2.86, Q3 2027 to $3.10 from $2.97, Q1 2028 to $3.10 from $2.89 and Q2 2028 to $3.30 from $3.06. The broad-based upgrades are the clearest near-term catalyst for DGX.
• Positive Sentiment: Quest Diagnostics declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.86 per share, payable October 21 to shareholders of record October 6. The dividend supports the stock’s income appeal and represents an annualized yield of approximately 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: The FY2026 EPS estimate of $11.15 now matches consensus and remains within Quest’s guidance range of $11.05–$11.25, limiting the immediate surprise but reinforcing expectations for solid execution.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks lowered its Q4 2027 EPS estimate to $2.90 from $3.05, partially offsetting the other increases. However, the broader FY2027 forecast was still raised.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source