Sanford C. Bernstein Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Waters (NYSE:WAT) Stock

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target lifted by Sanford C. Bernstein from $345.00 to $360.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.85.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $388.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,515. The company has a market cap of $23.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.96, a P/E/G ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 0.97. Waters has a fifty-two week low of $241.95 and a fifty-two week high of $391.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $342.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $325.43.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. Waters’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Waters will post 11.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Waters in the second quarter worth $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 190.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waters by 19,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. 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.