West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. Expected to Post Q2 2024 Earnings of $1.97 Per Share (NYSE:WST)

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) – Research analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report released on Monday, April 15th. Zacks Research analyst I. Bandyopadhyay now forecasts that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings per share of $1.97 for the quarter, up from their prior 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.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST stock opened at $377.35 on Wednesday. West Pharmaceutical Services has a one year low of $310.42 and a one year high of $415.73. The firm has a market cap of $27.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.89, a PEG ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $379.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $364.10.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. The company had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 155.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 97 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at $40,000. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total transaction of $23,077,900.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,023,943.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 10.15%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

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.