Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Receives $390.19 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WATGet Free Report) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $390.19.

WAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price objective on Waters and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Waters

Waters Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of WAT opened at $341.88 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $342.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $368.01. Waters has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $20.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.11.

Waters (NYSE:WATGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Waters’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Waters will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Waters by 118.9% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 81 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

About Waters

(Get Free Report

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for Waters (NYSE:WAT)

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