Zacks Research Analysts Reduce Earnings Estimates for WST

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) – Zacks Research decreased their Q2 2027 earnings estimates for shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the medical instruments supplier will earn $2.26 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.27. Zacks Research has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for West Pharmaceutical Services’ current full-year earnings is $6.62 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for West Pharmaceutical Services’ Q3 2027 earnings at $2.21 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on WST. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore reduced their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $314.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 5.9%

NYSE WST opened at $233.52 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a PE ratio of 34.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.17. West Pharmaceutical Services has a one year low of $187.43 and a one year high of $322.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $262.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 3.02.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 17.90%. The company had revenue of $805.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 83,066 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $21,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,087 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 73.7% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 29,107 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,636,000 after purchasing an additional 12,348 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 18,586 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,876,000 after buying an additional 13,940 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.7% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 69,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $18,304,000 after buying an additional 10,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Growth Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 17.2% in the third quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 34,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,930,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc is a global developer and manufacturer of components, systems and services that enable the containment and delivery of injectable drugs. The company focuses on high-quality packaging and delivery solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, producing primary drug packaging components and specialized drug delivery devices used for vaccines, biologics and other injectable therapies. West is known for its elastomeric closures, seals and polymer components that maintain sterility and compatibility with sensitive drug formulations.

In addition to component manufacturing, West provides engineered delivery systems and support services across the product lifecycle.