West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a bullish view: Fifteen brokerages give West Pharmaceutical Services an average “Buy” rating, with an average 12-month price target of approximately $368.08. Recent target increases include Barclays to $400 and BNP Paribas Exane’s $447 target.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: West reported adjusted EPS of $2.37 versus the $2.08 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 13.8% year over year to $872.3 million. Management guided for full-year 2026 EPS of $8.85–$9.05.
• Shares remain widely institutionally held: Institutional investors own 93.9% of the stock, which recently traded around $351.19 and has a 52-week range of $223.83 to $386.00. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, equivalent to a 0.3% yield.

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

A number of brokerages recently commented on WST. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $447.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp upped their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays raised West Pharmaceutical Services from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WST. Tema ETFs LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 3,563 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,279,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at $8,857,000. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.3% during the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,411 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $866,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth about $200,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,377.8% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $351.19 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 52-week low of $223.83 and a 52-week high of $386.00. The company has a market capitalization of $24.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $341.83 and a 200 day moving average of $291.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.29. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.98% and a return on equity of 20.11%. The company had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

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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