Waters (NYSE:WAT) Issues Q2 Earnings Guidance

Waters (NYSE:WAT) updated its second quarter earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided EPS guidance of $2.50-2.60 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $2.76. The company issued revenue guidance of down 4.5-6.5% yr/yr to ~$692.8-707.6 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $729.41 million. Waters also updated its FY24 guidance to $11.75-12.05 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WAT. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price target on Waters from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $306.70.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock traded up $10.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $346.54. 26,270 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 416,014. The stock has a market cap of $20.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.01, a P/E/G ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $332.93 and its 200 day moving average is $311.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.22. Waters has a 52-week low of $231.90 and a 52-week high of $363.80.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.11. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $636.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.49 earnings per share. Waters’s revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Waters will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.