West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Issues Earnings Results

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27, Briefing.com reports. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. The company had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. West Pharmaceutical Services updated its FY 2024 guidance to 7.630-7.880 EPS.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST stock traded down $5.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $362.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 268,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 511,711. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1 year low of $310.42 and a 1 year high of $415.73. The stock has a market cap of $26.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.05, a PEG ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $377.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $364.29. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WST. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.20.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total transaction of $724,053.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $709,708.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

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.