Waters (NYSE:WAT) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. KeyCorp raised shares of Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. 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 report on Wednesday, May 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 target price on shares of Waters and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.00.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $350.22 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $349.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $364.25. The company has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Waters has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 41.70% and a net margin of 22.02%. The firm had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Waters will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Waters by 118.9% in the 1st 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 period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Waters by 129.3% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

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.