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

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $388.64.

WAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $382.45 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $390.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $363.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. Waters has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.71 billion, a PE ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in Waters by 106,144.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,145,386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084,555 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth $284,415,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth about $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Waters by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after acquiring an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Waters by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,654,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $984,582,000 after acquiring an additional 212,364 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.