Why Waters (WAT) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term

Core Insights - Zacks Premium offers various tools to help investors make informed decisions and enhance their confidence in the stock market [1][2] Zacks Style Scores - Zacks Style Scores are indicators that rate stocks based on value, growth, and momentum characteristics, helping investors identify stocks likely to outperform the market in the next 30 days [2][3] - Each stock is rated from A to F, with A indicating the highest potential for outperformance [3] Value Score - The Value Style Score focuses on identifying undervalued stocks using ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, and Price/Cash Flow [3] Growth Score - The Growth Style Score assesses a company's financial strength and future outlook, considering projected and historical earnings, sales, and cash flow [4] Momentum Score - The Momentum Style Score evaluates trends in stock prices and earnings estimates, helping investors identify optimal times to invest in high-momentum stocks [5] VGM Score - The VGM Score combines all three Style Scores, providing a comprehensive indicator for selecting stocks with attractive value, growth forecasts, and promising momentum [6] Zacks Rank - The Zacks Rank is a proprietary model that uses earnings estimate revisions to assist investors in building successful portfolios [7] - Stocks rated 1 (Strong Buy) have historically produced an average annual return of +25.41% since 1988, significantly outperforming the S&P 500 [8] Stock to Watch: Waters Corp (WAT) - Waters Corp is an analytical instrument manufacturer with a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold) and a VGM Score of B [12] - The company is appealing to growth investors, with a Growth Style Score of A and a forecasted year-over-year earnings growth of 8.7% for the current fiscal year [13] - Recent earnings estimates for fiscal 2025 have been revised upward, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate increasing by $0.01 to $12.89 per share, alongside an average earnings surprise of 4% [13]