West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Price Target Raised to $275.00 at Barclays

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) had its price target increased by Barclays from $265.00 to $275.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Evercore decreased 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 note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $315.67.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $267.83 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.02 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $247.08 and a 200 day moving average of $261.52. The firm has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.44, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.15. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1 year low of $193.05 and a 1 year high of $322.34.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $805.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.70 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 17.90%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $272,041,000. Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 1,561,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $429,733,000 after acquiring an additional 585,855 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,770,920 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $726,895,000 after acquiring an additional 503,601 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,174,962 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $323,280,000 after acquiring an additional 473,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $123,667,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.