Should You Buy Quest Diagnostics Ahead of Earnings?

Investors are always looking for stocks that are poised to beat at earnings season and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated DGX may be one such company. The firm has earnings coming up pretty soon, and events are shaping up quite nicely for their report.That is because Quest Diagnostics is seeing favorable earnings estimate revision activity as of late, which is generally a precursor to an earnings beat. After all, analysts raising estimates right before earnings — with the most up-to-date information possible — is a pretty good indicator of some favorable trends underneath the surface for DGX in this report.In fact, the Most Accurate Estimate for the current quarter is currently at $2.59 per share for DGX, compared to a broader Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.57 per share. This suggests that analysts have very recently bumped up their estimates for DGX, giving the stock a Zacks Earnings ESP of +0.67% heading into earnings season.Quest Diagnostics Incorporated Price and EPS Surprise Quest Diagnostics Incorporated price-eps-surprise | Quest Diagnostics Incorporated QuoteWhy is this Important?A positive reading for the Zacks Earnings ESP has proven to be very powerful in producing both positive surprises, and outperforming the market. Our recent 10-year backtest shows that stocks that have a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better show a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and have returned over 28% on average in annual returns (see more Top Earnings ESP stocks here).Given that DGX has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and an ESP in positive territory, investors might want to consider this stock ahead of earnings. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Clearly, recent earnings estimate revisions suggest that good things are ahead for Quest Diagnostics, and that a beat might be in the cards for the upcoming report. One Big Gain, Every Trading DayTo help you take full advantage of this market, you’re invited to access every stock recommendation in all our private portfolios - for just $1.Zacks private portfolio services that closed 256 double and triple-digit winners in 2024 alone. That’s about one big gain every day the market was open. Of course, not all our picks are winners, but members have seen recent gains as high as +627% +1,340%, and +1,708%.Imagine how much you could profit with a steady stream of real-time picks from all our services that cover a number of strategies to suit a variety of investing and trading styles.See Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (DGX): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks