Zacks Research Has Pessimistic Outlook of WST Q1 Earnings

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, March 6th. Zacks Research analyst I. Bandyopadhyay now anticipates that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings per share of $1.24 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.62. The consensus estimate for West Pharmaceutical Services' current full-year earnings is $6.62 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for West Pharmaceutical Services' Q2 2025 earnings at $1.44 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.65 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.85 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $6.19 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.43 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.82 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.95 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.02 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.23 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. KeyCorp reduced their price target 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $344.00.

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West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE:WST traded down $6.54 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $224.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 949,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 982,552. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The business's 50-day moving average is $289.34 and its 200-day moving average is $304.27. The company has a market cap of $16.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services has a one year low of $197.01 and a one year high of $400.88.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 1,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $14,729,000. Virtue Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,670 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $547,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 25,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $8,418,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.