Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts WEX (NYSE:WEX) Price Target to $220.00

WEX (NYSE:WEX) had its target price decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $247.00 to $220.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on WEX. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on WEX from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research lowered WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays restated 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WEX currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.73.

WEX Stock Up 0.7 %

WEX opened at $178.25 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.02. WEX has a 52 week low of $165.51 and a 52 week high of $244.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.58.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.82 by $0.53. The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that WEX will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value 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 approximately $1,436,334.08. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEX

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in WEX by 124.2% in the third 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 period. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in WEX during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,227,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in WEX by 300.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 68,539 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,375,000 after buying an additional 51,423 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new stake in WEX in the second quarter worth $3,531,000. Finally, Maven Securities LTD purchased a new stake in shares of WEX in the second quarter worth $2,657,000. 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.