West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Issues FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 7.630-7.880 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 7.620. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.0 billion-$3.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.0 billion.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WST. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $360.43 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $377.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $363.97. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1-year low of $310.42 and a 1-year high of $415.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.55, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.04.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.29% and a net margin of 19.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total value of $23,077,900.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at $55,023,943.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at $1,700,900. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772. Company insiders own 0.53% 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.