West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Citigroup

Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $400.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $430.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $332.34 on Wednesday. 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 12 month low of $265.00 and a 12 month high of $413.70. The company has a market cap of $24.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $325.58 and its 200-day moving average is $312.49.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 47.9% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $82,000. Hedge funds and other 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.