Q2 2024 EPS Estimates for West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. Increased by Zacks Research (NYSE:WST)

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) – Analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q2 2024 EPS estimates for shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, April 15th. Zacks Research analyst I. Bandyopadhyay now forecasts that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings of $1.97 per share 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.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:WST opened at $377.36 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.62 billion, a PE ratio of 47.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $379.98 and its 200 day moving average is $364.00. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12 month low of $310.42 and a 12 month high of $415.73.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter worth $398,000. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.4% in the first quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,033 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,466 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.5% in the first quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 957 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter worth $596,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at $709,708.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.15%.

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.