Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Receives $395.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $395.00.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim began coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $440.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waters from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Rothschild Redb raised Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $392.35 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $390.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $341.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $23.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.06, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.16. Waters has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $799.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $780.05 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 36.59%. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. Waters has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.050-13.150 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter worth about $287,000. Natural Investments LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 1,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,785 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 351 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

About Waters

Waters Corporation is a global provider of analytical instruments, software and services for laboratory and research applications. The company designs, manufactures and sells technologies centered on liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, separation science, and related sample preparation and detection systems. Its product portfolio includes chromatographs, mass spectrometers, columns and consumables, laboratory informatics and workflow software, as well as technical support and training services that help customers run and interpret complex analyses.

Waters serves a wide range of end markets that include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research and testing laboratories, academic and government research institutions, clinical diagnostics, food and environmental testing, and industrial and chemical manufacturers.