Weekly Investment Analysts’ Ratings Updates for West Pharmaceutical Services (WST)

A number of firms have modified their ratings and price targets on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE: WST) recently:

• 2/19/2025 – West Pharmaceutical Services was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
• 2/14/2025 – West Pharmaceutical Services had its price target lowered by analysts at KeyCorp from $470.00 to $325.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 2/14/2025 – West Pharmaceutical Services was upgraded by analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They now have a $250.00 price target on the stock.
• 2/11/2025 – West Pharmaceutical Services was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
• 1/31/2025 – West Pharmaceutical Services was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
• 1/8/2025 – West Pharmaceutical Services is now covered by analysts at Citigroup Inc.. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST traded up $10.33 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $221.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,713,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 939,980. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.01 and a 12-month high of $400.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $316.29 and a 200-day moving average of $310.73. The company has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products.