Waters (NYSE:WAT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Waters (NYSE:WAT) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.11, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $636.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.57 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The company’s revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. Waters updated its Q2 guidance to $2.50-2.60 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $11.75-12.05 EPS.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $326.47. The company had a trading volume of 106,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 416,977. The business has a 50 day moving average of $333.23 and a 200-day moving average of $310.76. The company has a market cap of $19.36 billion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. Waters has a 1-year low of $231.90 and a 1-year high of $363.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.22.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.20.

About Waters

Waters Corporation provides analytical workflow solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Waters and TA. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography, as well as mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans.