Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $394.5556.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Wolfe Research began coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Waters Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $377.02 on Friday. Waters has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $414.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $345.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $347.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.02 billion, a PE ratio of 47.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.21.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waters will post 14.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Waters

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in Waters by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,890,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in Waters by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 359 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co lifted its holdings in Waters by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

About Waters

Waters Corporation is a global provider of analytical instruments, software and services for laboratory and research applications. The company designs, manufactures and sells technologies centered on liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, separation science, and related sample preparation and detection systems. Its product portfolio includes chromatographs, mass spectrometers, columns and consumables, laboratory informatics and workflow software, as well as technical support and training services that help customers run and interpret complex analyses.

Waters serves a wide range of end markets that include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research and testing laboratories, academic and government research institutions, clinical diagnostics, food and environmental testing, and industrial and chemical manufacturers.