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

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $397.40.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $396.00 to $407.00 in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock opened at $370.19 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $388.26 and a 200-day moving average of $372.08. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Waters will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in Waters by 1.7% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 3,916 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,349 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,925,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 59.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 503 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Waters by 1.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 81,653 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $29,386,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Waters in the third quarter worth about $101,000. 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.