Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $397.40.

WAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock opened at $370.19 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $388.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $372.08. The firm has a market cap of $21.99 billion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued 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 net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. On average, research analysts expect that Waters will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,318 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its position in shares of Waters by 8,167.6% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 51,590 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $19,139,000 after buying an additional 50,966 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at $128,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Waters during the fourth quarter valued at about $22,948,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Waters during the fourth quarter worth about $223,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.