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 released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on WST. 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 report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $315.67.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST opened at $269.31 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $248.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.15. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12-month low of $193.05 and a 12-month high of $322.34.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $805.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.70 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 17.90% and a net margin of 16.06%.West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Bayban acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 156.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

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.