WEX (NYSE:WEX) Given “Equal Weight” Rating at Barclays

WEX (NYSE:WEX)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reiterated by Barclays in a research note issued on Tuesday. They currently have a $200.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $207.00. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.87% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on WEX. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 price objective 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. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on WEX from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.64.

WEX Price Performance

WEX opened at $177.19 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. WEX has a 1 year low of $165.51 and a 1 year high of $244.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $188.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.48. The stock has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.57.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its earnings results 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. WEX had a return on equity of 31.35% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that WEX will post 13.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other WEX news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of WEX stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.44, for a total transaction of $33,152.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,334.08. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Commerce Bank lifted 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 acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of WEX by 0.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in WEX by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,238 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of WEX by 47.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 277 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.