Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Outlook for WST Earnings

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note issued on Wednesday, April 9th. Zacks Research analyst I. Bandyopadhyay now forecasts that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings of $1.64 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.65. 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' FY2025 earnings at $6.18 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.40 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.78 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.91 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.00 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $7.09 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.56 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $8.17 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.50.

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West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WST traded down $2.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $210.02. The company had a trading volume of 405,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 690,718. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. 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 has a one year low of $187.43 and a one year high of $394.42. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $226.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.51.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.2% during the 4th 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 during the period. Trust Point Inc. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 321.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,427 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 80.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,153,000 after acquiring an additional 3,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $2,553,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.