Waters (NYSE:WAT) Updates Q3 Earnings Guidance

Waters (NYSE:WAT) updated its third quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $2.60-$2.70 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $2.88. The company issued revenue guidance of $708.1-$722.4, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $733.15 million. Waters also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 11.550-11.650 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WAT. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a hold rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Waters from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $310.58.

Waters Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE WAT traded down $6.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $345.66. 696,557 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 446,807. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $303.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $321.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Waters has a 12-month low of $231.90 and a 12-month high of $367.21. The firm has a market cap of $20.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.92, a PEG ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.95.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. The business had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waters will post 11.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard H. Fearon acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $332.90 per share, with a total value of $332,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $550,283.70. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Richard H. Fearon purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $332.90 per share, with a total value of $332,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at $550,283.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total transaction of $1,446,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,321,894.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.82% 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.