Waters Co. Forecasted to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $2.98 Per Share (NYSE:WAT)

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) – Equities researchers at Leerink Partnrs upped their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Waters in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, May 7th. Leerink Partnrs analyst P. Souda now forecasts that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings of $2.98 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.93. The consensus estimate for Waters’ current full-year earnings is $11.89 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Waters’ Q4 2024 earnings at $4.16 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $4.42 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on WAT. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $306.70.

Waters Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $323.80 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a PEG ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waters has a 12-month low of $231.90 and a 12-month high of $363.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $332.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $310.85.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.11. The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. IMPACTfolio LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. IMPACTfolio LLC now owns 803 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID now owns 11,469 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,776,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eads & Heald Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 681 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.