Waters (NYSE:WAT) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm issued an overweight rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Waters from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Waters in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a hold rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners upgraded Waters from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $310.58.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $336.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion, a PE ratio of 33.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $313.60 and its 200 day moving average is $323.85. Waters has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $367.21.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The business had revenue of $709.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Waters will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. purchased a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter worth $2,773,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter worth $2,637,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter worth $962,000. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in shares of Waters by 2,134.3% during the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,921 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,038,000 after buying an additional 5,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 357,257 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $117,620,000 after buying an additional 13,093 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% 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.