WEX (NYSE:WEX) Price Target Raised to $189.00

WEX (NYSE:WEX) had its target price hoisted by Cantor Fitzgerald from $178.00 to $189.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

WEX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of WEX in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Evercore raised WEX to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded WEX from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on WEX from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on WEX from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.10.

WEX Stock Performance

Shares of WEX stock opened at $184.69 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $186.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00. WEX has a 52 week low of $125.29 and a 52 week high of $203.99.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $6.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.68 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $780.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $749.74 million. WEX had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 45.74%. WEX’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that WEX will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Joel Alan Dearborn, Jr. sold 3,343 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $668,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 17,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,404,200. This represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Melissa D. Smith sold 28,109 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.09, for a total transaction of $5,343,239.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,070,146.25. The trade was a 18.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 34,527 shares of company stock worth $6,558,910 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEX

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in WEX by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 906 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in WEX by 3.6% in the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 3,187 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group grew its holdings in WEX by 8.6% in the third quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 1,551 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of WEX by 97.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 267 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of WEX by 1.5% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

About WEX

WEX Inc (NYSE:WEX) is a financial technology company that provides payment-processing and business-management solutions. Its products are designed to help organizations manage corporate spending, employee benefits and mobility-related expenses through specialized payment accounts, software and data tools.

WEX’s mobility business serves commercial vehicle fleets with fuel cards, fleet-payment programs, expense controls, telematics integrations and related solutions. The company also supports emerging mobility needs, including electric-vehicle charging payments.