Waters (NYSE:WAT) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

Waters (NYSE:WAT) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $11.75-12.05 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $11.88. The company issued revenue guidance of +0-2% yr/yr to ~$2.96-3.02 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.98 billion. Waters also updated its Q2 guidance to $2.50-2.60 EPS.

Waters Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of WAT stock traded up $11.54 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $335.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 178,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,623. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. Waters has a one year low of $231.90 and a one year high of $363.80. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $332.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $310.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $636.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Waters will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their price target on Waters from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $306.70.

Insider Transactions at Waters

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