Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Receives $375.85 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $375.85.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WAT shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised their target price on Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Cfra set a $389.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Waters during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Waters by 190.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Waters during the second quarter worth $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Up 2.1 %

WAT stock opened at $368.16 on Wednesday. Waters has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $397.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $21.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.13, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $367.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $337.42.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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.