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

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $195.00 and last traded at $197.09, with a volume of 31604 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $203.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WST shares. KeyCorp cut 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 report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for 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 research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $251.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $294.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock has a market cap of $14.49 billion, a PE ratio of 29.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. Analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WST. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.