WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 700,900 shares, a decrease of 18.8% from the October 31st total of 863,700 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 427,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

WEX Stock Performance

WEX opened at $188.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.20. WEX has a 1 year low of $165.51 and a 1 year high of $244.04. The company has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.57.

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 return on equity of 31.35% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that WEX will post 13.1 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research cut WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on WEX from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of WEX from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEX

In other WEX news, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $101,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 7,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,000. This represents a 6.66 % decrease in their position. 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

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Commerce Bank raised its position in shares of WEX by 1.7% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 3,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in WEX by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in WEX by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,238 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of WEX by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 301 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of WEX by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 277 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

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.