West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Issues FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) updated its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 6.650-6.850 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 6.294. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.0 billion-$3.1 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.0 billion.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens raised West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 5.7%

Shares of NYSE:WST traded down $15.78 during trading on Friday, reaching $263.32. 1,493,189 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 777,491. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.77 and a quick ratio of 2.03. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $352.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $220.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.22. The firm has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 16.48%. The company had revenue of $766.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is 12.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.1% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,020 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.