WEX (NYSE:WEX) PT Raised to $280.00 at Barclays

WEX (NYSE:WEX) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Barclays from $255.00 to $280.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 21.82% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on WEX. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of WEX from $272.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. TheStreet raised shares of WEX from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of WEX from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of WEX from $205.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of WEX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $240.00.

WEX Stock Performance

WEX opened at $229.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.31, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $228.84 and a 200 day moving average of $201.82. WEX has a fifty-two week low of $161.95 and a fifty-two week high of $244.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.29 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $663.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $656.75 million. WEX had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 31.33%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WEX will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 309 shares of WEX stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.24, for a total transaction of $72,071.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,289,350.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 309 shares of WEX stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.24, for a total transaction of $72,071.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 5,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,289,350.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 1,500 shares of WEX stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.85, for a total transaction of $332,775.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,235,704.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,433 shares of company stock valued at $14,708,896. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEX

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEX by 96.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,804,000 after purchasing an additional 3,722 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA bought a new stake in shares of WEX in the 1st quarter valued at about $215,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEX in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WEX by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,199,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $816,919,000 after purchasing an additional 67,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEX in the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

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.