Equities Analysts Set Expectations for Waters Q1 Earnings

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) – Equities research analysts at KeyCorp issued their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Waters in a research note issued on Monday, March 31st. KeyCorp analyst P. Knight forecasts that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings of $2.20 per share for the quarter. KeyCorp currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $460.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Waters’ current full-year earnings is $12.86 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Waters’ Q2 2025 earnings at $2.88 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.23 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $4.45 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $13.83 EPS.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on WAT. UBS Group increased their target price on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.31.

Waters Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of WAT opened at $355.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. Waters has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $385.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $373.45. The company has a market capitalization of $21.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Waters by 235.7% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 129.3% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.