Waters (NYSE:WAT) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $399.31 and last traded at $395.50, with a volume of 51202 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $380.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.71.

Waters Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $377.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $347.34. The firm has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

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