Waters (NYSE:WAT) Releases Q2 2024 Earnings Guidance

Waters (NYSE:WAT) issued an update on its second quarter 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 2.500-2.600 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 2.770. The company issued revenue guidance of $692.4 million-$707.3 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $728.8 million. Waters also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 11.750-12.050 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. 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 research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $301.56.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of Waters stock traded up $3.16 on Wednesday, hitting $329.22. 40,097 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 416,194. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.22. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $333.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $310.76. Waters has a 52 week low of $231.90 and a 52 week high of $363.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.11. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $636.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Waters will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.