Waters (NYSE:WAT) Rating Increased to Sector Outperform at Scotiabank

Waters (NYSE:WAT) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $450.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Scotiabank’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.66% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on WAT. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $388.64.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $382.45 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $22.71 billion, a PE ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01. Waters has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $390.16 and a 200 day moving average of $363.86.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. As a group, research analysts predict that Waters will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WAT. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 106,144.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,145,386,000 after buying an additional 3,084,555 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,415,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter worth $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 70.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,654,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $984,582,000 after buying an additional 212,364 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

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.