Waters (NYSE:WAT) Updates Q3 Earnings Guidance

Waters (NYSE:WAT) issued an update on its third quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. 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.

Waters Trading Down 1.9 %

WAT traded down $6.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $345.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 696,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 446,807. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $303.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $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. The stock has a market cap of $20.52 billion, a PE ratio of 33.92, a PEG ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.95. Waters has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month high of $367.21.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. SVB Leerink upgraded Waters from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their price target for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $310.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

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

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.