Waters (NYSE:WAT) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Waters (NYSE:WAT) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided EPS guidance of 11.670-11.870 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 11.600. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.9 billion-$3.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.9 billion. Waters also updated its Q4 guidance to $3.90-4.10 EPS.

Waters Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE WAT traded down $1.47 during trading on Monday, hitting $385.74. 508,365 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 429,644. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $342.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $325.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.42. Waters has a 12-month low of $241.95 and a 12-month high of $391.00. The firm has a market cap of $22.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.74, a PEG ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waters will post 11.6 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on WAT. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a report on Thursday, October 17th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.85.

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.