West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) is scheduled to be announcing its earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.31 per share for the quarter. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY24 guidance at $7.50-7.75 EPS.Investors interested in registering for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect West Pharmaceutical Services to post $8 EPS for the current fiscal year and $9 EPS for the next fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 3.9 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $389.98 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $377.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $364.11. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1-year low of $310.42 and a 1-year high of $415.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.49, a PEG ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 10.15%.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,700,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,559,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WST. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.