Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $381.5714.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WAT. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Redburn Partners set a $390.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Waters from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $315.00 price target on Waters and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Waters by 2.8% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,055 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in Waters by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 658 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 630 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 327 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT opened at $379.85 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $331.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $327.68. Waters has a 52-week low of $275.05 and a 52-week high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.61 billion, a PE ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.11.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 19th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter. Waters had a return on equity of 38.60% and a net margin of 21.71%.The firm had revenue of $608.55 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waters will post 12.86 earnings per share 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.