West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Receives $342.20 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $342.20.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Rothschild Redb upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, December 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $285.00 price target on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of WST opened at $276.66 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $275.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.60. West Pharmaceutical Services has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $348.90.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $804.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $788.42 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 16.29%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.060-7.110 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WST. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter worth about $329,000. Amundi boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.4% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 502,831 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $111,236,000 after purchasing an additional 228,696 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 106.5% in the 1st quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 53,070 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,881,000 after purchasing an additional 27,370 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,610,000. Finally, Sivik Global Healthcare LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 20.0% in the second quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC now owns 15,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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.