Waters (NYSE:WAT) Issues Q2 2024 Earnings Guidance

Waters (NYSE:WAT) updated its second quarter 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 2.500-2.600 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 2.770. The company issued revenue guidance of $692.4 million-$707.3 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $728.8 million. Waters also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 11.750-12.050 EPS.

Waters Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of WAT traded up $3.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $329.22. 40,097 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 416,194. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.22. The company has a market cap of $19.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.06, a P/E/G ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $333.23 and its 200-day moving average is $310.76. Waters has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $363.80.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $636.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.57 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $301.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.82% 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.