Q1 Earnings Forecast for Waters Issued By KeyCorp

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) – Research analysts at KeyCorp issued their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Waters in a note issued to investors on Monday, March 31st. KeyCorp analyst P. Knight expects that the medical instruments supplier will earn $2.20 per share for the quarter. KeyCorp has a “Overweight” rating and a $460.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Waters’ current full-year earnings is $12.86 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Waters’ Q2 2025 earnings at $2.88 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.23 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $4.45 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $13.83 EPS.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on WAT. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $396.00 to $407.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.31.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $362.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $21.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $384.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $373.38. Waters has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Waters by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,565,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA lifted its position in Waters by 1.0% in the first quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 3,155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

About Waters

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.