Waters (NYSE:WAT) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $411.75 and last traded at $409.71, with a volume of 51670 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $404.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank started coverage on Waters in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.71.

Waters Trading Up 1.0 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $379.89 and a 200 day moving average of $352.73. The firm has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. acquired a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth about $5,194,000. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter worth approximately $22,188,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 421,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $156,439,000 after purchasing an additional 27,801 shares during the last quarter. 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.