Fact based stock research
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX)

US74834L1008

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

Quest Diagnostics stock research in summary

questdiagnostics.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 23 (worse than 77% compared with investment alternatives), Quest Diagnostics (Health Care Services, USA) shares have lower financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Quest Diagnostics are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 57 (better than 57% of alternatives) but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 49), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 37), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 23, is a sell recommendation based on Quest Diagnostics's financial characteristics. As the company Quest Diagnostics's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 57) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 49) and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 37), it may be a risky investment, because debt in times of crises can make things worse. The good value, better than 57% of comparable companies, may indicate the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	57
Growth Rank	49
Safety Rank	37
Combined Rank	23

Country	USA
Industry	Health Care Services
Index	Dividends USA, Diversity USA, D.J. US Health Care, S&P 500
Size class	Large

This stock has achievements: Top 10 Stock.

31-Jul-2025. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: Quest Diagnostics

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	83	76	59	57
GROWTH
GROWTH	37	7	52	49
SAFETY
SAFETY	58	54	11	37
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	89	37	83	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	93	30	45	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 31-Jul-2025. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 31-Mar-2025. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better Quest Diagnostics is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	83	76	59	57
GROWTH
GROWTH	37	7	52	49
SAFETY
SAFETY	58	54	11	37
COMBINED
COMBINED	78	35	18	23

Last update of combined financial performance: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of Quest Diagnostics the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 57 (better than 57% compared with alternatives), Quest Diagnostics shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Quest Diagnostics. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 53 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 53% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Quest Diagnostics's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 32, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 32% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 84% of alternatives (only 16% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 10% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 57, is a buy recommendation based on Quest Diagnostics's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	34	20	16	16
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	54	61	44	53
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	71	50	38	32
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	92	94	93	90
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	83	76	59	57

Last update of Value Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of Quest Diagnostics; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 49 (better than 49% compared with alternatives), Quest Diagnostics shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Quest Diagnostics. Profit Growth has a rank of 53, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits more than 53% of its competitors. This is a good sign for shareholders, which is confirmed by an above-average Stock Returns rank of 81 (above 81% of alternative investments). But Sales Growth has a below the median rank of 18, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 82% of its competitors, and Capital Growth also has a lower rank of 25. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 49, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Because revenues and invested capital are the more solid growth indicators, the positive development on the profit side is less relevant. It may have been caused by cost-cutting, which may be a negative growth indicator. Finally, the above-average stock returns recently are a thing of the past and not a good indicator of future returns. Investors should be confident that the cost-cutting initiative leading to higher profits is to benefit the company's future. If not, there is little growth momentum, and investment is only advisable if the Value Ranks suggest a good investment timing for Quest Diagnostics. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance is mixed here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	5	12	29	18
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	66	27	54	53
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	33	28	42	25
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	71	23	75	81
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	37	7	52	49

Last update of Growth Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of Quest Diagnostics.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 37 (better than 37% compared with alternatives), the company Quest Diagnostics has financing practices on the riskier side, which means that their overall debt burden is above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of Quest Diagnostics is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with just one indicator above average for Quest Diagnostics. Liquidity is at 65, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 65% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is riskier at a rank of 24, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 76% of its competitors. Leverage is also high at a rank of 35, which means that the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 65% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 37 (worse than 63% compared with alternatives), Quest Diagnostics has a financing structure that is riskier than that of its competitors. High Leverage (a low Obermatt Leverage Rank) is good in good times, because it usually indicates that shareholders get higher returns. The good Liquidity performance of the company is an indicator that this is the case. However, if you expect an economic downturn, you may stay clear of this stock because they have an above-average debt level that needs refinancing soon. If the company is sailing with good winds, as may be visible from the Growth and Sentiment performance, the refinancing risk may be lower than the low Refinancing rank suggests. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	52	46	36	35
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	37	27	19	24
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	71	71	26	65
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	58	54	11	37

Last update of Safety Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of Quest Diagnostics and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2022	2023	2024	2025
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	28	52	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	55	25	43	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	95	55	100	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	78	71	94	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	89	37	83	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for Quest Diagnostics.
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