Waters (NYSE:WAT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Scotiabank

Waters (NYSE:WAT) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $450.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock, up from their previous price target of $430.00. Scotiabank’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 21.72% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on WAT. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on Waters in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America cut their price target on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $390.40.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $369.71 on Thursday. Waters has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The stock has a market cap of $21.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $389.84 and a 200-day moving average of $364.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. As a group, analysts predict that Waters will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. CWM LLC increased its stake in Waters by 9.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter worth about $225,000. Procyon Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter worth about $238,000. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Waters by 6.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 31,288 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,260,000 after buying an additional 1,929 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,782 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,001,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.