Waters (NYSE:WAT) Earns Sector Perform Rating from Analysts at Scotiabank

Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a sector perform rating and a $430.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $379.71.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $373.15 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Waters has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $397.02. The company has a market capitalization of $22.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.61, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $368.15 and a 200-day moving average of $339.48.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.84 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waters will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,577,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $927,700,000 after acquiring an additional 49,194 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,416,683 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $508,123,000 after purchasing an additional 16,703 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 885,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $318,717,000 after buying an additional 6,256 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 659,539 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $219,811,000 after buying an additional 6,647 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Waters by 70.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

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.