Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $388.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Waters from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Baird R W upgraded shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the first quarter worth $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the first quarter worth $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 118.9% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 81 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 129.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $350.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.81. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $349.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $364.25. Waters has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56. The firm has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.10.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 41.70%. The business had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Waters will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waters Company Profile

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.

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