Zacks Research Research Analysts Boost Earnings Estimates for West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lifted their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report released on Monday, April 15th. Zacks Research analyst I. Bandyopadhyay now anticipates that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings per share of $1.97 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.96. The consensus estimate for West Pharmaceutical Services’ current full-year earnings is $7.62 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for West Pharmaceutical Services’ Q3 2024 earnings at $2.11 EPS and Q3 2025 earnings at $2.44 EPS.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The firm had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $377.35 on Wednesday. West Pharmaceutical Services has a fifty-two week low of $310.42 and a fifty-two week high of $415.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $379.31 and a 200-day moving average of $364.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.88. The stock has a market cap of $27.63 billion, a PE ratio of 47.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 1.04.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13,230.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 18,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,571,000 after buying an additional 18,522 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 750,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $281,524,000 after acquiring an additional 60,927 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.8% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,830 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,958 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,563,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,287.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 44,940 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $16,862,000 after purchasing an additional 41,700 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other West Pharmaceutical Services 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at $709,708.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.21%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.15%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

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.