Waters (NYSE:WAT) Issues FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Waters (NYSE:WAT) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 11.750-12.050 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 11.890. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.0 billion-$3.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.0 billion. Waters also updated its Q2 2024 guidance to 2.500-2.600 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WAT. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $301.56.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT traded up $3.16 on Wednesday, reaching $329.22. 40,097 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 416,194. The stock has a market cap of $19.53 billion, a PE ratio of 30.06, a P/E/G ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Waters has a 12 month low of $231.90 and a 12 month high of $363.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $333.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $310.76.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $636.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.57 million. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Waters will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.