Analysts predict that Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) will post earnings per share of $1.92 for the current quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Seven analysts have made estimates for Waters’ earnings, with the highest EPS estimate coming in at $2.00 and the lowest estimate coming in at $1.87. Waters reported earnings of $1.76 per share during the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year over year growth rate of 9.1%. The firm is scheduled to issue its next earnings results on Tuesday, July 24th.
On average, analysts expect that Waters will report full-year earnings of $8.21 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $8.10 to $8.42. For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the firm will post earnings of $9.06 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $8.80 to $9.49. Zacks Investment Research’s EPS averages are an average based on a survey of analysts that cover Waters.
Get Waters alerts:Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.04. Waters had a net margin of 1.14% and a return on equity of 25.80%. The company had revenue of $530.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $534.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis.
WAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cleveland Research cut shares of Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 14th. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 20th. ValuEngine cut shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Waters from $237.00 to $218.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Waters from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $207.31.
In other news, SVP Michael C. Harrington sold 16,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.67, for a total transaction of $3,129,904.26. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,526,447.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joann A. Reed sold 2,090 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.77, for a total transaction of $409,159.30. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,510,547.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,689 shares of company stock worth $7,130,365. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. OppenheimerFunds Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. OppenheimerFunds Inc. now owns 1,860 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 3,760 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Waters by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 2,530 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake in shares of Waters by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 7,690 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its stake in Waters by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 59,953 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,910,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.
NYSE WAT traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $193.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 567,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 676,068. Waters has a 52 week low of $171.32 and a 52 week high of $220.20. The stock has a market cap of $15.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 5.87 and a current ratio of 6.44.
Waters declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 24th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 18.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
About Waters
Waters Corporation, a specialty measurement company, provides analytical workflow solutions in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It designs, manufactures, sells, and services high and ultra performance liquid chromatography technology, as well as mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans.
Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Waters (WAT)
For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com
No comments:
Post a Comment