WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $228.64.

WEX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $200.00 target price (down previously from $207.00) on shares of WEX in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.44, for a total value of $33,152.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,334.08. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEX

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

WEX Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of WEX stock opened at $167.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. WEX has a 1 year low of $165.51 and a 1 year high of $244.04. The firm has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.39.

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

About WEX

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.