West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. to Post Q1 2024 Earnings of $1.30 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts (NYSE:WST)

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) – Research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note issued to investors on Monday, April 15th. Zacks Research analyst I. Bandyopadhyay now expects that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings of $1.30 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.38. The consensus estimate for West Pharmaceutical Services’ current full-year earnings is $7.62 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for West Pharmaceutical Services’ FY2024 earnings at $7.55 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.86 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.01 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.16 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $9.99 EPS.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. The firm had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

WST has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp raised their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST opened at $377.36 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1-year low of $310.42 and a 1-year high of $415.73. The company has a market cap of $27.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.89, a PEG ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $379.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $364.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WST. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 155.3% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 97 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,559,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,700,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,559,380.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total transaction of $23,077,900.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,023,943.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772 in the last 90 days. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.21%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.15%.

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.