West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc (NYSE: WST) has experienced a decline in its stock price by -2.99 compared to its previous closing price of 338.12. However, the company has seen a gain of 1.21% in its stock price over the last five trading days. seekingalpha.com reported 2024-11-06 that This week, 17 companies with an average dividend increase of 8.3% are highlighted, emphasizing consistent dividend growth and outperforming benchmarks. My investment strategy focuses on buying, holding, and adding companies with consistent dividend increases and superior performance compared to benchmarks. The list is created using data from the “U.S. Dividend Champions” spreadsheet and NASDAQ, featuring companies with at least five years of dividend growth.
Is It Worth Investing in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc (NYSE: WST) Right Now?
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc (NYSE: WST) has a higher price-to-earnings ratio of 48.66x compared to its average ratio, The 36-month beta value for WST is at 1.02. Analysts have varying views on the stock, with 1 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 3 rating it as “overweight,” 2 as “hold,” and 1 as “sell.”
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The public float for WST is 72.00M, and currently, shorts hold a 1.99% of that float. The average trading volume for WST on November 15, 2024 was 565.16K shares.
WST’s Market Performance
WST stock saw an increase of 1.21% in the past week, with a monthly gain of 13.64% and a quarterly increase of 8.73%. The volatility ratio for the week is 2.87%, and the volatility levels for the last 30 days are 3.34% for West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc (WST).. The simple moving average for the past 20 days is 3.39% for WST’s stock, with a -2.24% simple moving average for the past 200 days.
Analysts’ Opinion of WST
Many brokerage firms have already submitted their reports for WST stocks, with Jefferies repeating the rating for WST by listing it as a “Buy.” The predicted price for WST in the upcoming period, according to Jefferies is $536 based on the research report published on February 07, 2024 of the current year 2024.
BofA Securities, on the other hand, stated in their research note that they expect to see WST reach a price target of $405, previously predicting the price at $390. The rating they have provided for WST stocks is “Buy” according to the report published on June 16th, 2023.
Stephens gave a rating of “Overweight” to WST, setting the target price at $400 in the report published on April 11th of the previous year.
WST Trading at 7.11% from the 50-Day Moving Average
After a stumble in the market that brought WST to its low price for the period of the last 52 weeks, the company was unable to rebound, for now settling with -20.71% of loss for the given period.
Volatility was left at 3.34%, however, over the last 30 days, the volatility rate increased by 2.87%, as shares surge +11.84% for the moving average over the last 20 days. Over the last 50 days, in opposition, the stock is trading +10.36% upper at present.
During the last 5 trading sessions, WST rose by +1.22%, which changed the moving average for the period of 200-days by -14.01% in comparison to the 20-day moving average, which settled at $317.27. In addition, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc saw -6.84% in overturn over a single year, with a tendency to cut further losses.
Insider Trading
Reports are indicating that there were more than several insider trading activities at WST starting from Witherspoon Charles, who sale 703 shares at the price of $310.40 back on Oct 29 ’24. After this action, Witherspoon Charles now owns 1,253 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc, valued at $218,211 using the latest closing price.
Witherspoon Charles, the VP & Treasurer of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc, sale 1,029 shares at $300.00 during a trade that took place back on Aug 19 ’24, which means that Witherspoon Charles is holding 1,478 shares at $308,700 based on the most recent closing price.
Stock Fundamentals for WST
Current profitability levels for the company are sitting at:
- 0.2 for the present operating margin
- 0.35 for the gross margin
The net margin for West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc stands at 0.17. The total capital return value is set at 0.18. Equity return is now at value 17.78, with 13.45 for asset returns.
Based on West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc (WST), the company’s capital structure generated 0.07 points at debt to capital in total, while cash flow to debt ratio is standing at 3.47. The debt to equity ratio resting at 0.07. The interest coverage ratio of the stock is 115.16.
Currently, EBITDA for the company is 847.8 million with net debt to EBITDA at -0.25. When we switch over and look at the enterprise to sales, we see a ratio of 8.2. The receivables turnover for the company is 5.49for trailing twelve months and the total asset turnover is 0.78. The liquidity ratio also appears to be rather interesting for investors as it stands at 3.00.
Conclusion
In conclusion, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc (WST) has had a mixed performance lately. Opinion on the stock among analysts is mixed, with some giving it a “buy” rating and others a “hold”. It’s important to note that the stock is currently trading at a significant distance from its 50-day moving average and its 52-week high.
