West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) will announce its earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.31 per share for the quarter. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY24 guidance at $7.50-7.75 EPS.Investors interested in registering for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. The firm had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect West Pharmaceutical Services to post $8 EPS for the current fiscal year and $9 EPS for the next fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE WST opened at $377.36 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1-year low of $310.42 and a 1-year high of $415.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $379.98 and a 200-day moving average of $364.00. The firm has a market cap of $27.62 billion, a PE ratio of 47.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.04.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WST shares. KeyCorp boosted their target price 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,559,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WST. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 147 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $68,000. 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.