West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Expected to Earn Q3 2024 Earnings of $2.19 Per Share

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) – William Blair boosted their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for West Pharmaceutical Services in a report released on Thursday, April 25th. William Blair analyst M. Larew now forecasts that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings per share of $2.19 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.11. The consensus estimate for West Pharmaceutical Services’ current full-year earnings is $7.65 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for West Pharmaceutical Services’ Q4 2024 earnings at $2.21 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $9.11 EPS.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $695.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.57% and a net margin of 19.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on WST. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp increased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. UBS Group decreased their price target on 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $357.40 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $26.03 billion, a PE ratio of 47.16, a P/E/G ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.04. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12 month low of $310.42 and a 12 month high of $415.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $377.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $363.56.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 155.3% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 97 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.55%.

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.