Waters (NYSE:WAT) Announces Earnings Results

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

Waters Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of WAT stock traded up $1.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $327.20. 91,412 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 416,817. Waters has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.06, a P/E/G ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $333.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $310.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on WAT. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.56.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Waters Company Profile

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.