Waters (NYSE:WAT) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.11 EPS

Waters (NYSE:WAT) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.11, Briefing.com reports. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $636.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters updated its Q2 guidance to $2.50-2.60 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $11.75-12.05 EPS.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock traded up $1.42 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $327.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 96,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 416,884. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market cap of $19.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.06, a P/E/G ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. Waters has a 52 week low of $231.90 and a 52 week high of $363.80. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $333.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $310.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.