Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $379.71.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WAT. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waters by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.8% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 851 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in Waters by 2.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Waters by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 7,841 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Waters by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of WAT stock opened at $373.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $367.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $339.24. Waters has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $397.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.16 billion, a PE ratio of 35.61, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The company had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Waters will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.