Waters (NYSE:WAT) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $636.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $635.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.49 earnings per share. Waters's revenue for the quarter 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 Down 0.7 %

WAT traded down $2.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $323.80. 399,532 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 420,346. Waters has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year high of $363.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $333.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $310.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In related news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WAT. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Waters from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $306.70.

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.