West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• West Pharmaceutical Services has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 15 brokerages, with 11 buys, three holds and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is approximately $368.08.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.37 in EPS versus a $2.08 consensus estimate and $872.3 million in revenue, up 13.8% year over year. Analysts forecast full-year 2026 EPS of about $8.93.
• West declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22, equivalent to $0.88 annually and a 0.3% yield, while institutional investors own 93.9% of the company’s outstanding shares.

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $368.0769.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WST shares. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Zacks Research lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock opened at $338.21 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $23.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $350.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $304.00. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1 year low of $223.83 and a 1 year high of $386.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.98% and a return on equity of 20.11%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.140-2.240 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.850-9.050 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 29th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 36,590.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 40,592,489 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $14,572,704,000 after purchasing an additional 40,481,855 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter worth $2,387,990,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $733,733,000. Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $728,168,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $272,041,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc is a global developer and manufacturer of components, systems and services that enable the containment and delivery of injectable drugs. The company focuses on high-quality packaging and delivery solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, producing primary drug packaging components and specialized drug delivery devices used for vaccines, biologics and other injectable therapies. West is known for its elastomeric closures, seals and polymer components that maintain sterility and compatibility with sensitive drug formulations.

In addition to component manufacturing, West provides engineered delivery systems and support services across the product lifecycle.

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