Waters Co. to Post Q2 2023 Earnings of $2.62 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts (NYSE:WAT)

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT – Get Rating) – Zacks Research cut their Q2 2023 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Waters in a report issued on Tuesday, May 23rd. Zacks Research analyst S. Mete now expects that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings per share of $2.62 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.88. The consensus estimate for Waters’ current full-year earnings is $12.58 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Waters’ Q4 2024 earnings at $4.83 EPS.

Waters (NYSE:WAT – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.60 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $684.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $697.86 million. Waters had a return on equity of 149.31% and a net margin of 23.22%. Waters’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.80 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Waters from $350.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. StockNews.com cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 12th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Waters from $350.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Waters from $345.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Waters from $345.00 to $288.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $335.27.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $259.56 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $293.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $318.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The stock has a market cap of $15.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.85. Waters has a 52-week low of $252.18 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark P. Vergnano bought 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $313.32 per share, with a total value of $997,924.20. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,479.24. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waters

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Waters by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 181 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. ETF Managers Group LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. ETF Managers Group LLC now owns 2,324 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Waters by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 520 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 6,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 88.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Company Profile

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Waters Corp. engages in the provision of workflow solutions involving liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and thermal analysis. It operates through the Waters and TA (TA Instruments) segments. The Waters segment consists of liquid chromatography instruments, mass spectrometry, and precision chemistry consumable products and services.