West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Board of Directors Initiates Share Buyback Program

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $243.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.02 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $259.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.58. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $322.34.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 17.90% and a net margin of 16.06%.The business had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WST. Wall Street Zen upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $314.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc is a global developer and manufacturer of components, systems and services that enable the containment and delivery of injectable drugs. The company focuses on high-quality packaging and delivery solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, producing primary drug packaging components and specialized drug delivery devices used for vaccines, biologics and other injectable therapies. West is known for its elastomeric closures, seals and polymer components that maintain sterility and compatibility with sensitive drug formulations.

In addition to component manufacturing, West provides engineered delivery systems and support services across the product lifecycle.