West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) to Buyback $1.00 billion in Outstanding Shares

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) announced that its board 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 authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE WST traded down $7.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $243.27. 969,895 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,265,581. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $322.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $260.12 and a 200 day moving average of $261.81. The stock has a market cap of $17.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 17.90%. The business had revenue of $805.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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. On average, research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore reduced their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.