Research Analysts Offer Predictions for WST Q1 Earnings

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report issued on Thursday, March 6th. Zacks Research analyst I. Bandyopadhyay now expects that the medical instruments supplier will earn $1.24 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.62. The consensus estimate for West Pharmaceutical Services’ current full-year earnings is $6.62 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for West Pharmaceutical Services’ Q2 2025 earnings at $1.44 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.65 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.85 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $6.19 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.43 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.82 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.95 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.02 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.23 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $231.76 on Monday. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12 month low of $197.01 and a 12 month high of $400.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $291.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $304.83.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WST. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 1,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth about $14,729,000. Virtue Capital Management LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,670 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 25,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,418,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.