Zacks Research Has Bearish Forecast for WST Q4 Earnings

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note issued on Thursday, November 14th. Zacks Research analyst I. Bandyopadhyay now forecasts that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings per share of $1.77 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.83. The consensus estimate for West Pharmaceutical Services’ current full-year earnings is $6.66 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for West Pharmaceutical Services’ Q2 2026 earnings at $2.17 EPS.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $307.22 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1-year low of $265.00 and a 1-year high of $413.70. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $306.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $315.42. The company has a market capitalization of $22.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.58, a PEG ratio of 23.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pitcairn Co. lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.4% in the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 875 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,495 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

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.