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 (EPS) guidance of $11.75-12.05 for the period, compared to the consensus 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on WAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Waters from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $306.70.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT traded down $2.26 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $323.80. The company had a trading volume of 398,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,886. Waters has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $363.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $333.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $310.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $636.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.57 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.49 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Waters will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In related news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.