West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $430.20.

Several research firms recently commented on WST. Bank of America raised 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. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $332.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.31, a P/E/G ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.00. West Pharmaceutical Services has a one year low of $265.00 and a one year high of $413.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $325.89 and its 200 day moving average is $312.42.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.