West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (WST) To Go Ex-Dividend on November 10th

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, October 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Wednesday, November 18th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a 18.2% increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22.

West Pharmaceutical Services has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years. West Pharmaceutical Services has a dividend payout ratio of 14.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect West Pharmaceutical Services to earn $10.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 10.1%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST opened at $399.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.84 billion, a PE ratio of 44.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 2.10. West Pharmaceutical Services has a one year low of $223.83 and a one year high of $438.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $373.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $316.61.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $874.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $827.12 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 18.81% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, July 27th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.67.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services designs and manufactures packaging components and delivery systems used by the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. Its products help contain and administer injectable medicines and include elastomeric components, such as stoppers and seals, as well as syringe components and other packaging and delivery solutions.

The company also provides contract manufacturing services for medical devices and pharmaceutical delivery systems. Its customers include companies developing and producing branded, generic, and biologic medicines.

Founded in 1923 by Herman O.