Waters (NYSE:WAT) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.25 EPS

Waters (NYSE:WAT) posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.84 earnings per share.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT stock traded up $64.10 on Friday, hitting $387.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,905,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 376,298. Waters has a 1 year low of $241.40 and a 1 year high of $389.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $22.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $342.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $325.20.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WAT. Leerink Partners upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Waters from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $342.58.

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.