West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Analysts at Barclays

Barclays began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $245.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Stephens raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.6%

WST opened at $219.59 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $352.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $214.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $254.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $15.78 billion, a PE ratio of 34.47, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.23% and a net margin of 16.13%. The firm had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $685.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. National Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $706,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 571 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 2,560 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,486 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,899,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.