West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on WST. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of WST opened at $254.76 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $352.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $246.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $227.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 1.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The firm had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.57%.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth about $25,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 193.9% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.0% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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.