Waters (NYSE:WAT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $397.02 and last traded at $389.97, with a volume of 49293 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $390.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Bank of America upped their price target on Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $375.85.

Waters Stock Down 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $22.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.90, a PEG ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $365.52 and a 200 day moving average of $335.79.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The company had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.84 earnings per share. Waters’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Waters in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Waters in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Waters in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 190.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% during the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% 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.