Research Analysts Offer Predictions for WST FY2027 Earnings

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Zacks Research issued their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a note issued to investors on Thursday, March 6th. Zacks Research analyst I. Bandyopadhyay expects that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings of $8.18 per share for the year. The consensus estimate for West Pharmaceutical Services' current full-year earnings is $6.62 per share.

WST has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $344.00.

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West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE:WST traded up $5.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $231.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,264,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 983,278. The business's fifty day moving average is $293.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $305.33. The stock has a market cap of $16.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.64, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1 year low of $197.01 and a 1 year high of $400.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The business had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $46,151,000 after buying an additional 16,418 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 321.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 2,427 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,756 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $27,541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.4% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 130,345 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $39,124,000 after purchasing an additional 23,850 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

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.