Brokers Set Expectations for WST FY2027 Earnings

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research issued their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, March 6th. Zacks Research analyst I. Bandyopadhyay forecasts that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings per share of $8.18 for the year. The consensus estimate for West Pharmaceutical Services’ current full-year earnings is $6.62 per share.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on WST. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their target price on 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 started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $231.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12-month low of $197.01 and a 12-month high of $400.88. The company has a market capitalization of $16.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.61, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $297.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $306.29.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.56%.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $41,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.