West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $256.27 and last traded at $229.38, with a volume of 16866 shares. The stock had previously closed at $322.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $327.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $313.82. The firm has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. Sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.46%.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,371 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,119,000 after acquiring an additional 3,526 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,160,000 after buying an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,694 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $809,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.3% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth about $304,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.