Jefferies Financial Group Issues Positive Forecast for WEX (NYSE:WEX) Stock Price

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

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on WEX. Citigroup downgraded WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of WEX from $247.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research lowered WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.73.

WEX Stock Performance

NYSE:WEX opened at $182.98 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $178.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. WEX has a 1-year low of $165.51 and a 1-year high of $244.04.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 31.35% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that WEX will post 13.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.44, for a total value of $33,152.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,334.08. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WEX

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of WEX by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in WEX in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $702,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in WEX by 231.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in WEX by 1,635.8% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 8,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benin Management CORP lifted its position in shares of WEX by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 3,041 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is currently 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.