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

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 9.45-9.650 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 10.410. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial set a $220.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.93.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $2.85 on Wednesday, reaching $208.20. 219,969 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,081,524. The firm has a market cap of $23.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.66. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $157.20 and a 1-year high of $208.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company’s 50-day moving average is $181.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.77.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 8.91%.The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 37.56%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total value of $1,488,683.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,410,745.50. This represents a 51.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total value of $239,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,267,015.12. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 64,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,318,360 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Quest Diagnostics

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and full?year guidance: Quest reported Q4 revenue of $2.81B (up 7.1% YoY) and adjusted EPS of $2.42, beating consensus. Management provided FY?2026 guidance (reported diluted EPS $9.45–9.65; adjusted diluted EPS $10.50–10.70 and revenue $11.70B–$11.82B). Investors are rewarding the top?line strength and clear forward outlook. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Share repurchase authorization: The board approved an incremental $1.0B buyback (up to ~4.7% of shares), a direct capital return signal that typically supports the share price. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend raise: Quest hiked the quarterly dividend 7.5% to $0.86 (marking 15 consecutive years of increases), which appeals to income investors and supports valuation multiples. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy on DGX today, citing a strong 2026 outlook, margin expansion and growth in higher?margin segments — a catalyst for momentum buying. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi raised its price target to $215 but kept a Neutral rating — indicates some upside in the stock but not an outright upgrade from a large shop. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer?term product news: CEO comments highlighted progress on blood?based Alzheimer’s testing, which could expand higher?margin services over time but is not an immediate revenue driver. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: EPS guidance context: While revenue guidance was solid, reported FY?2026 EPS guidance (9.45–9.65) sits near or slightly below some street models — some analysts may view the EPS outlook as conservative, which could cap near?term upside until visibility improves. Read More.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $323,000. AXA S.A. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 1,696 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $687,000 after buying an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 40.6% during the third quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 1,631 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.9% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 1,688 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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.