West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) and Its Competitors Financial Review

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) is one of 511 public companies in the “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare West Pharmaceutical Services to related companies based on the strength of its earnings, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

Risk and Volatility

West Pharmaceutical Services has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, West Pharmaceutical Services’ rivals have a beta of 2.51, meaning that their average stock price is 151% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for West Pharmaceutical Services and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
West Pharmaceutical Services	0	2	12	0	2.86
West Pharmaceutical Services Competitors	4242	10453	18165	819	2.46

West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus price target of $391.17, indicating a potential downside of 6.09%. As a group, “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” companies have a potential upside of 24.06%. Given West Pharmaceutical Services’ rivals higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe West Pharmaceutical Services has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

93.9% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.6% of shares of all “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 14.9% of shares of all “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

West Pharmaceutical Services pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. West Pharmaceutical Services pays out 13.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.2% and pay out 54.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares West Pharmaceutical Services and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
West Pharmaceutical Services	16.98%	20.11%	14.83%
West Pharmaceutical Services Competitors	-278.47%	-150.38%	-22.01%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares West Pharmaceutical Services and its rivals revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
West Pharmaceutical Services	$3.33 billion	$493.70 million	53.34
West Pharmaceutical Services Competitors	$1.89 billion	$138.15 million	11.14

West Pharmaceutical Services has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. West Pharmaceutical Services is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

West Pharmaceutical Services beats its rivals on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

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. The Proprietary Products segment offers stoppers and seals for injectable packaging systems; syringe and cartridge components, including custom solutions for the needs of injectable drug applications, as well as administration systems that enhance the safe delivery of drugs through advanced reconstitution, mixing, and transfer technologies; and films, coatings, washing, and vision inspection and sterilization processes and services to enhance the quality of packaging components. This segment also provides drug containment solutions, including Crystal Zenith, a cyclic olefin polymer in the form of vials, syringes, and cartridges; and self-injection devices; and a range of integrated solutions, including analytical lab services, pre-approval primary packaging support and engineering development, regulatory expertise, and after-sales technical support. This segment serves biologic, generic, and pharmaceutical drug companies. The Contract-Manufactured Products segment is involved in the design, manufacture, and automated assembly of devices used in surgical, diagnostic, ophthalmic, injectable, and other drug delivery systems, as well as consumer products. The company serves pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device companies. It sells and distributes its products through its sales force and distribution network, contract sales agents, and regional distributors. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania.