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

Waters (NYSE:WAT) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $635.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Waters updated its Q2 guidance to $2.50-2.60 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $11.75-12.05 EPS.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $323.80 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.57 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 has a market capitalization of $19.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $332.95 and a 200 day moving average of $310.85.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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