Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Waters (NYSE:WAT) Stock Price

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target increased by Barclays from $330.00 to $360.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on Waters in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.85.

Waters Stock Up 0.0 %

WAT opened at $387.34 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 0.97. Waters has a one year low of $241.95 and a one year high of $391.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $342.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $325.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.84 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Waters will post 11.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 70.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after acquiring an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Waters by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $141,757,000 after purchasing an additional 100,811 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Waters by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $130,053,000 after buying an additional 77,951 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 3,627.0% in the 3rd quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 68,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $24,828,000 after buying an additional 67,136 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Waters by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 652,892 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $189,417,000 after buying an additional 51,853 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.