Waters (NYSE:WAT) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.11 EPS

Waters (NYSE:WAT) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.11, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $636.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.57 million. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. Waters updated its Q2 guidance to $2.50-2.60 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $11.75-12.05 EPS.

Waters Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WAT traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $326.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 106,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 416,977. Waters has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $363.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $333.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $310.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WAT shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company 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.