How to buy West Pharmaceutical Services stock | $261.16

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc is a medical instruments & supplies business based in the US. West Pharmaceutical Services shares (WST) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. West Pharmaceutical Services employs 8,200 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$2 billion.

How to buy shares in West Pharmaceutical Services

1. Compare share trading platforms. If you're a beginner, look for a platform with low commissions, expert ratings and investment tools to track your portfolio. Narrow down top brands with our comparison table.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and bank information. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for West Pharmaceutical Services. Find the stock by name or ticker symbol: WST. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until West Pharmaceutical Services reaches your desired price. To spread out your purchase, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of USD$261.16, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimize risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of West Pharmaceutical Services, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of West Pharmaceutical Services. Optimize your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services share price

Use our graph to track the performance of WST stocks over time.

West Pharmaceutical Services shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2020-12-01.

Latest market close	USD$261.16
52-week range	USD$124.2671 - USD$305
50-day moving average	USD$283.9331
200-day moving average	USD$258.4858
Wall St. target price	USD$298
PE ratio	65.862
Dividend yield	USD$0.65 (0.24%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	USD$4.13

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Is it a good time to buy West Pharmaceutical Services stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc by TradingView

This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.

West Pharmaceutical Services price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $261.16 from 2020-12-09

1 week (2021-01-11)	N/A
1 month (2020-12-22)	-7.69%
3 months (2020-10-18)	N/A
6 months (2020-07-18)	N/A

1 year (2020-01-18)	N/A
2 years (2019-01-18)	N/A
3 years (2018-01-18)	N/A
5 years (2016-01-18)	N/A

Is West Pharmaceutical Services under- or over-valued?

Valuing West Pharmaceutical Services stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of West Pharmaceutical Services's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services's P/E ratio

West Pharmaceutical Services's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 66x. In other words, West Pharmaceutical Services shares trade at around 66x recent earnings.

That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.

West Pharmaceutical Services's PEG ratio

West Pharmaceutical Services's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 4.6607. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into West Pharmaceutical Services's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

West Pharmaceutical Services's EBITDA

West Pharmaceutical Services's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is USD$476 million.

The EBITDA is a measure of a West Pharmaceutical Services's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

West Pharmaceutical Services financials

Revenue TTM	USD$2 billion
Operating margin TTM	18.12%
Gross profit TTM	USD$605.7 million
Return on assets TTM	9.7%
Return on equity TTM	19.44%
Profit margin	15.3%
Book value	$23.26
Market capitalisation	USD$20.1 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting West Pharmaceutical Services shares

There are currently 598,406 West Pharmaceutical Services shares held short by investors – that's known as West Pharmaceutical Services's "short interest". This figure is 21.1% down from 758,031 last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting West Pharmaceutical Services shares can be evaluated.

West Pharmaceutical Services's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

West Pharmaceutical Services's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of West Pharmaceutical Services shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of West Pharmaceutical Services shares traded daily (recently around 381150.31847134). West Pharmaceutical Services's SIR currently stands at 1.57. In other words for every 100,000 West Pharmaceutical Services shares traded daily on the market, roughly 1570 shares are currently held short.

However West Pharmaceutical Services's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of West Pharmaceutical Services shares, or, against the total number of tradable West Pharmaceutical Services shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case West Pharmaceutical Services's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 West Pharmaceutical Services shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.0103% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable West Pharmaceutical Services shares, roughly 10 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against West Pharmaceutical Services.

Find out more about how you can short West Pharmaceutical Services stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 15.37% of net profits

Recently West Pharmaceutical Services has paid out, on average, around 15.37% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 0.24% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), West Pharmaceutical Services shareholders could enjoy a 0.24% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In West Pharmaceutical Services's case, that would currently equate to about $0.65 per share.

While West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio might seem low, this can signify that West Pharmaceutical Services is investing more in its future growth.

West Pharmaceutical Services's most recent dividend payout was on 18 November 2020. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 9 November 2020 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have West Pharmaceutical Services's shares ever split?

West Pharmaceutical Services's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 27 September 2013. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 2 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your West Pharmaceutical Services shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 50% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for West Pharmaceutical Services shares which in turn could have impacted West Pharmaceutical Services's share price.

West Pharmaceutical Services share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, West Pharmaceutical Services's shares have ranged in value from as little as $124.2671 up to $305. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while West Pharmaceutical Services's is 1.1359. This would suggest that West Pharmaceutical Services's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

West Pharmaceutical Services overview

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. manufactures and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the United States, Germany, Ireland, France, Other European countries, and internationally. The company operates through 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, and washing and sterilization processes and services to enhance the quality of packaging components. It also provides drug containment solutions, including Crystal Zenith, a cyclic olefin polymer in the form of vials, syringes, and cartridges; and self-injection devices, as well as 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 components and devices used in surgical, diagnostic, ophthalmic, injectable, and other drug delivery systems, as well as consumer products. This segment serves pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device companies. It distributes its products through its sales force and distribution network, as well as contract sales agents and regional distributors. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of West Pharmaceutical Services is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 0.581% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are held by insiders and 94.446% by institutions.

• How many people work for West Pharmaceutical Services?

  Latest data suggests 8,200 work at West Pharmaceutical Services.

• When does the fiscal year end for West Pharmaceutical Services?

  West Pharmaceutical Services's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is West Pharmaceutical Services based?

  West Pharmaceutical Services's address is: 530 Herman O. West Drive, Exton, PA, United States, 19341-0645

• What is West Pharmaceutical Services's ISIN number?

  West Pharmaceutical Services's international securities identification number is: US9553061055

• What is West Pharmaceutical Services's CUSIP number?

  West Pharmaceutical Services's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 953348109