WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $235.91.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on WEX from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on WEX from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th.

WEX Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE:WEX traded up $3.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $185.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 290,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,612. WEX has a 52-week low of $165.51 and a 52-week high of $244.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $196.01 and a 200-day moving average of $187.80.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.03 million. WEX had a return on equity of 31.35% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that WEX will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEX news, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 508 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $101,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 7,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,000. The trade was a 6.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of WEX

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WEX. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in WEX by 672.7% in the third quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 154,033 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,305,000 after acquiring an additional 134,099 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in WEX by 34.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 495,527 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $87,772,000 after buying an additional 126,663 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEX by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,555,507 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $326,237,000 after acquiring an additional 125,262 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in WEX by 328.6% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 127,570 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,755,000 after purchasing an additional 97,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in WEX by 82.2% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 175,690 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,847,000 after purchasing an additional 79,252 shares during the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is currently 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.