WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $235.91.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEX

In other news, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $101,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,000. This trade represents a 6.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WEX

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WEX in the 1st quarter worth $338,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of WEX by 0.5% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 33,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,883,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEX in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,509,000. Castleark Management LLC grew its position in shares of WEX by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 24,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,874,000 after buying an additional 6,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of WEX by 856.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,289 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,157,000 after acquiring an additional 11,899 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

WEX Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of WEX opened at $185.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s fifty day moving average is $196.01 and its 200 day moving average is $188.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. WEX has a fifty-two week low of $165.51 and a fifty-two week high of $244.04.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.82 by $0.53. WEX had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 31.35%. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that WEX will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEX Company Profile

WEX Inc operates a commerce platform in the United States and internationally. The Mobility segment offers fleet vehicle payment solutions, transaction processing, and information management services; and provides account activation and account retention services; authorization and billing inquiries, and account maintenance services; account management; credit and collections services; merchant services; analytics solutions; and ancillary services and offerings.