Equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. (NYSE:WST) will announce sales of $452.20 million for the current quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Three analysts have provided estimates for West Pharmaceutical Services’ earnings, with the highest sales estimate coming in at $453.00 million and the lowest estimate coming in at $450.70 million. West Pharmaceutical Services reported sales of $422.50 million during the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year over year growth rate of 7%. The business is scheduled to issue its next quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th.
On average, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services will report full-year sales of $1.82 billion for the current fiscal year. For the next financial year, analysts anticipate that the firm will post sales of $1.95 billion, with estimates ranging from $1.94 billion to $1.97 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales calculations are a mean average based on a survey of research analysts that cover West Pharmaceutical Services.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.08. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 12.82% and a return on equity of 16.66%. The company had revenue of $456.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $450.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year.
A number of research firms have issued reports on WST. Bank of America downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Finally, ValuEngine downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.29.
West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $152.63. 469,521 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 333,080. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 3.00. West Pharmaceutical Services has a fifty-two week low of $98.60 and a fifty-two week high of $153.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.08, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $149.00 and its 200-day moving average is $141.51.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.78%.
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 66.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 597,787 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $74,812,000 after acquiring an additional 239,545 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 438,054 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $54,822,000 after acquiring an additional 96,670 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $480,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 201.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 155,155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $22,004,000 after acquiring an additional 103,619 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 28,090 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,983,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.21% of the company’s stock.
About West Pharmaceutical Services
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc manufactures and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the United States, Germany, France, Other European countries, South Korea, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products.
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