Scotiabank Begins Coverage on Waters (NYSE:WAT)

Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a sector perform rating and a $430.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on WAT. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $379.71.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $373.15 on Monday. Waters has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $397.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.61, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $368.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $339.48.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waters will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Waters during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Waters during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Waters during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waters in the second quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 452.6% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 315 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.