WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six 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 objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $227.73.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $207.00) on shares of WEX in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on WEX from $247.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEX news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were 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 directly owns 7,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,334.08. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of WEX

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of WEX by 124.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 40,870 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,572,000 after purchasing an additional 22,638 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in WEX in the second quarter valued at $1,227,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of WEX by 300.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 68,539 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $14,375,000 after buying an additional 51,423 shares during the period. Maven Securities LTD acquired a new stake in shares of WEX in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,657,000. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 134,099 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company's stock.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of WEX stock traded up $4.73 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $175.05. 577,133 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 364,333. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.01. 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 firm has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.21, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.58. WEX has a 52 week low of $165.51 and a 52 week high of $244.04.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.82 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $665.50 million for 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%. WEX's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.44 EPS. Research analysts forecast that WEX will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current year.

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.