WEX (NYSE:WEX) Price Target Raised to $190.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

WEX (NYSE:WEX) had its price target increased by Jefferies Financial Group from $180.00 to $190.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of WEX from $247.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup lowered WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research downgraded WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.73.

WEX Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of WEX stock opened at $182.98 on Wednesday. WEX has a fifty-two week low of $165.51 and a fifty-two week high of $244.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.21.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.82 by $0.53. WEX had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 31.35%. The company had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.44 EPS. WEX’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that WEX will post 13.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEX news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,334.08. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEX. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in WEX by 206.1% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in WEX during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in WEX by 717.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 188 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 552.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 261 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position 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 institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.