Waters (NYSE:WAT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Key Points

• Waters exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting earnings of $4.10 per share versus the $4.00 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.77 billion versus expectations of $1.75 billion.
• Shares fell 2.9% despite the earnings beat, opening at $449.12; the company carries a high P/E ratio of 112.00 and has a market capitalization of approximately $44.13 billion.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $457.50; several firms recently raised their targets, including TD Cowen to $515.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.00 by $0.10, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.75 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.

Waters Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $449.12 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $431.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $370.83. Waters has a 1 year low of $282.77 and a 1 year high of $482.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $44.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Waters from $400.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Waters from $450.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $430.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Waters from $440.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $457.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total value of $1,442,930.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,086,515.52. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Waters

Waters Corporation NYSE: WAT develops and manufactures analytical technologies used to measure, identify and characterize chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, industrial manufacturers, academic and government laboratories, and organizations involved in food, environmental and clinical testing.

The company's product portfolio includes high-performance liquid chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography systems, mass spectrometers, chromatography columns and consumables, and laboratory software for data management and analysis.

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