DGX
Quest Diagnostics
$238.28
▼ 0.1%Updated Aug 7, 11:30 AM ET
DGX at a glance — five pillars scored 0–100 from real filed financials.
Overall: Neutral · 52/100. A wider, greener shape means more pillars look healthy. Dividends scores 0 when a company pays none — that is a choice, not a flaw.
▲ Up 8.5% over the last 12 months
Market Cap
$23.88B
P/E
25.66x
Forward P/E (est.)
22.34x
ROE
14.1%
Revenue Growth
11.0%
EPS Growth
14.9%
Profit Margin
9.1%
FCF Yield
5.4%
Debt / Equity
0.82x
ROIC
9.0%
Interest Coverage
9.55x
Current Ratio
1.18x
Dividend Yield
1.7%
Implied Growth (rev. DCF)
3.1%
Rating Score
52/100
Quest Diagnostics (DGX) is a large-cap company in the Health Care Services industry, part of the Health Care sector of the S&P 500, with a market value around $23.88B.
In its latest reported year it generated about $11.04B in revenue and $992.00M in net profit.
Our model rates DGX Neutral (52/100) on growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation. The summary below is built from its filed financials and current ratios and refreshes automatically.
Evidence of durable competitive advantage in the filed financials (9 years of history).
Some durable-advantage evidence, but not across the board — dig into which ingredient is weak and whether it's cyclical or structural.
13.8% average over the last 3 years
±3.0 pts around 16.1% across 9 years
grew in 6 of the last 8 year-over-year periods
positive in 9 of 9 years
9.0% latest fiscal year
A moat can't be proven by numbers alone — this scores the evidence a durable advantage leaves behind (pricing power, consistency, returns on capital), computed the same way for every stock. Pair it with the business overview before concluding anything.
Technical analysis reads price and volume to judge momentum and timing. It complements the fundamentals above — it does not replace them. Here is what DGX's chart says today, with each tool explained.
Trend — moving averages. A moving average is the average closing price over a window, which smooths out daily noise. DGX trades near $238.28, above its 50-day average ($197.08) and 200-day average ($190.74). Price above both averages, with the shorter one above the longer, is the textbook definition of an uptrend — momentum favours buyers.
Momentum — RSI. The Relative Strength Index runs 0–100 and measures how strong recent gains are versus losses. Above 70 is "overbought", below 30 "oversold". At 67 it is in neutral territory — neither stretched nor washed out.
MACD. MACD compares two moving averages to flag shifts in momentum. Its histogram is currently positive — short-term momentum is improving.
Volatility — ATR. Average True Range is the typical daily move. DGX's is $4.40 (~1.8% of price), so swings of about that size each day are normal — handy for setting a stop that isn't too tight.
Support & resistance. Over the last month DGX found buyers near $192.83 (support) and sellers near $217.41 (resistance); its 52-week range is $164.65–$217.41. A decisive break beyond either edge often marks the next move.
Volume. The latest session traded 0.9× the 20-day average — about normal. Rising volume on up-days suggests real buying; on down-days, real selling.
Educational information to help you read a chart — not a recommendation or a forecast. It updates daily as the price and indicators change.
4Y CAGR
0.6%
Revenue moved from $7.40B in 2017 to $11.04B in 2025, a 5.1% compound annual growth rate. The most recent year grew a steady 11.0% year over year. Consistent top-line growth is one sign of healthy demand.
Gross Margin
33.3%
Operating Margin
14.1%
Net Margin
9.0%
ROE
14.1%
Quest Diagnostics keeps about 9.1% of each sales dollar as net profit, with a 33.3% gross margin and 14.1% operating margin. Return on equity is 14.1% and return on invested capital about 9.0%. Margins are moderate — typical of a competitive but profitable business.
Total Debt
$5.67B
Net Debt
$5.28B
Net Debt / EBITDA
3.39x
Debt / Equity
0.82x
Leverage: debt-to-equity is 0.8x, and operating profit covers interest about 9.6x, with a current ratio of 1.2x. That is a moderate, manageable debt load for most businesses. It carries roughly $5.67B of total debt against $393.00M of cash.
Operating CF
$1.89B
Free Cash Flow
$1.36B
FCF Margin
12.3%
In the latest year Quest Diagnostics produced about $1.89B of operating cash flow and $1.36B of free cash flow after capital spending. That is a free-cash-flow yield of about 5.4% on today's price. Strong cash generation funds dividends, buybacks, and reinvestment.
Can the payout survive a bad year? Scored from filed cash flow, earnings coverage, and the raise/cut record.
The payout is comfortably covered by cash the business actually generates, with a raise habit behind it.
Dividend yield
1.7%
Per share (latest FY)
$1.80
Total paid (latest FY)
$353.00M
History on record
9 years
dividend uses 26% of free cash flow
36% of net income paid out
total dividends increased 3 years in a row
no cuts in the last 9 years on record
Coverage uses the latest fiscal year as filed with the SEC; the streak counts total dollars paid (per-share figures can carry split artifacts). Educational information, not income advice.
P/E
25.66x
P/S
2.01x
P/B
3.19x
EV / EBITDA
—
DGX trades at 25.7x trailing earnings (about 22.3x on estimated forward earnings), 2.0x sales, and 3.2x book value. Reverse-engineering today's price implies the market expects roughly 3.1% long-term free-cash-flow growth. That is a premium multiple that needs growth to justify it.
A two-stage discounted cash flow on real SEC-filed free cash flow — the intrinsic-value anchor professional analysts triangulate from.
DCF fair value / share
$312.37
Current price
$238.28
Starting FCF (latest 10-K)
$1.36B
Growth, years 1–5
11.0%
Fade to terminal, years 6–10
2.5%
Discount rate
9.0%
Cash flows grow at the stage-1 rate (trailing revenue growth, capped at 20%) for five years, fade to 2.5% by year 10, and continue at that rate forever (Gordon terminal value), all discounted at 9.0%. Small changes in assumptions move the result a lot — treat this as one reference point, not a target price. Educational only, not investment advice.
Where DGX sits versus its Health Care sector peers in the S&P 500.
Bands show the middle half (25th–75th percentile) of the 83 Health Care companies in the S&P 500 — the peer-relative anchor professional comps analysis uses. Context only — not investment advice.
How DGX stacks up against its Health Care peers — valuation, profitability, and growth versus the sector median.
In the Health Care sector (324 S&P 500 companies), DGX ranks #39 of 324 by our overall rating. It trades at roughly in line versus the sector on earnings (25.7x P/E vs. 27.3x median) with a similar return on equity (14.1% vs. 14.1%) and faster revenue growth (11.0% vs. 7.6%).
P/E vs sector
25.7x
median 27.3x
ROE vs sector
14.1%
median 14.1%
Growth vs sector
11.0%
median 7.6%
Sector rank
#39
of 324 by rating
Valuation vs. quality map
The sweet spot is upper-left: more profitable (higher ROE) for a lower P/E. Dashed lines mark the sector median.
Peers are the closest Health Care companies by sub-industry and size. Sector median is across all 324 S&P 500 names in the sector. Educational, not a recommendation.
Project revenue → earnings → price. Edit the assumptions to build your own case.
2030 price target (Base Case)
$0.00 – $0.00
vs. $238.28 today · expected CAGR 2% – 13%
| Metric | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $12.25B | $13.60B | $15.09B | $16.75B | $18.59B |
| Net income | $1.10B | $1.22B | $1.36B | $1.51B | $1.67B |
| EPS | $11.00 | $12.21 | $13.55 | $15.04 | $16.70 |
| Share price (low) | $176.00 | $195.36 | $216.85 | $240.71 | $267.19 |
| Share price (high) | $286.01 | $317.47 | $352.39 | $391.15 | $434.18 |
| CAGR (low–high) | -26% / 20% | -9% / 15% | -3% / 14% | 0% / 13% | 2% / 13% |
Educational model on sample fundamentals — not a forecast or investment advice. Outputs are only as good as your assumptions.
The case for DGX:
- Revenue is growing 11.0% a year, a sign of real demand.
- Healthy free-cash-flow yield (~5.4%) funds buybacks and dividends.
The case against DGX:
- Like any single stock, it is exposed to competition, the economic cycle, and shifts in its end markets.
Market risk — sector rotation, the economic cycle, and broad sentiment move the stock regardless of fundamentals.
On balance, the picture is mixed: Quest Diagnostics is a large-cap health care business still growing nicely, with modest profitability, and a heavier debt load to watch. It trades at 25.7x earnings, which our model scores Neutral (52/100). Weigh this against your own goals and time horizon — this is educational information, not a recommendation.
Analyst Ratings
What 23 Wall Street analysts covering DGX recommend (August 2026). Consensus is a useful sanity check — not a substitute for your own homework.
Latest SEC Filings
DGX's most recent filings, straight from SEC EDGAR. Annual and quarterly reports are the deep dives; 8-Ks flag material events the moment they happen.
In the Idea Lab
DGX — frequently asked questions
Is DGX a good stock to buy?
We don't give buy or sell advice. Our model rates Quest Diagnostics Neutral (52/100) based on its growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation — use that as a research starting point and make your own decision.
What is DGX's rating on The Stocks School?
Quest Diagnostics currently scores 52/100 (Neutral) on our transparent model, which weighs real fundamentals: growth, margins, returns on capital, balance-sheet strength, and valuation.
How our ratings work →Where does DGX's data come from?
Live price data plus real fundamentals and 5-year financials pulled directly from Quest Diagnostics's SEC filings — refreshed automatically, not hand-entered.
How is the 5-year projection for DGX calculated?
It's a scenario model: it grows revenue at an assumed rate, applies a profit margin and a valuation multiple, and shows the resulting share-price range. The assumptions are yours to change — it's a tool for thinking, not a prediction.
Is this DGX analysis financial advice?
No. Everything on this page is educational research, not financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell DGX. Always do your own research and consider a licensed professional.
Data notice. Fundamentals and financial statements are sourced from company filings (SEC EDGAR) and market-data providers; prices and market caps refresh on trading days and may be delayed. Ratings, projections, technical signals, and written summaries are model- or rule-generated for education and may simplify or lag the latest filings.
Not advice. Nothing on this page is investment advice or a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell any security. Do your own research and consult a licensed financial professional before investing.