Waters (NYSE:WAT) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

Waters (NYSE:WAT) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08, Zacks reports. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. Waters updated its Q1 2025 guidance to 2.170-2.250 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance to 12.700-13.000 EPS.

Waters Stock Down 0.4 %

WAT traded down $1.58 on Thursday, reaching $380.33. 114,326 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 429,785. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Waters has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $390.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $363.86. The company has a market cap of $22.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.37, a PEG ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $390.40.

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.