West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for West Pharmaceutical Services in a report issued on Monday, April 15th. Zacks Research analyst I. Bandyopadhyay now forecasts that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings of $1.97 per share 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.
A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on WST. UBS Group cut their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $435.20.
View Our Latest Research Report on WST
West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance
WST stock traded down $2.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $377.36. 355,376 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 513,669. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $379.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $364.00. The stock has a market cap of $27.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.89, a PEG ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.04. West Pharmaceutical Services has a fifty-two week low of $310.42 and a fifty-two week high of $415.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.88.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth about $398,000. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.4% during the first quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,033 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,466 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.5% during the first quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 957 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth about $596,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity
In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total transaction of $724,053.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.
West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.15%.
West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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