Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Waters Corporation has received an average rating of "Hold" from 15 analysts, with nine holding and five giving a buy rating; the average 1-year price target is $378.73.
• The company's Q2 earnings surpassed estimates with $2.95 EPS on revenues of $771.33 million, marking an 8.8% year-over-year increase.
• Institutional investors collectively hold nearly 94% of Waters’ stock, showing significant confidence in the company among large stakeholders.

Shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $378.7333.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Waters and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Scotiabank restated a "sector outperform" rating and issued a $465.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT traded down $1.65 during trading on Monday, reaching $292.99. The company had a trading volume of 374,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 611,156. Waters has a 52 week low of $275.05 and a 52 week high of $423.56. The business's 50 day moving average price is $311.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $340.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market cap of $17.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.42, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.04.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $771.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $745.96 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 38.60%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.150-3.250 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 12.950-13.050 EPS. Analysts expect that Waters will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,403,615,000 after purchasing an additional 950,687 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waters during the second quarter worth $266,384,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 50,228.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 662,320 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $244,111,000 after purchasing an additional 661,004 shares during the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 676.8% in the first quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 705,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $260,112,000 after purchasing an additional 614,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Waters by 3,349.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 304,404 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $112,928,000 after buying an additional 295,580 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.