West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Buy" by the eight analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $332.50.

WST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Stephens upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $5.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $224.15. The company had a trading volume of 976,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 732,435. The company's 50-day moving average is $210.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.45. West Pharmaceutical Services has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $352.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company has a market cap of $16.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The business had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $685.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.19%.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

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.