Waters (NYSE:WAT) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.11 EPS

Waters (NYSE:WAT) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $636.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.49 EPS. Waters’s quarterly revenue 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 Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $323.80 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $332.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $310.85. Waters has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month high of $363.80. The firm has a market cap 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In related news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.