Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 22,875 WEX Inc. $WEX

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors acquired 22,875 WEX shares worth approximately $3.5 million, while institutional investors collectively own 97.47% of the company.
• WEX exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.35 in EPS and $753.5 million in revenue, with revenue up 14.2% year over year. Analysts’ consensus rating remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $183.30.
• WEX authorized a $1 billion share-repurchase program, allowing it to buy back up to 21.2% of outstanding shares; the stock recently traded at $187.04, near its 52-week high.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 22,875 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,501,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of WEX as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. increased its position in WEX by 58.5% during the 1st quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 669,335 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $102,435,000 after purchasing an additional 246,923 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in WEX by 13.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 823,681 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $126,056,000 after buying an additional 98,524 shares in the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in WEX in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,061,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of WEX by 1.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,916,073 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $599,313,000 after buying an additional 44,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bull Harbor Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEX during the first quarter worth $456,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.47% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEX news, Director James R. Groch bought 1,500 shares of WEX stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $142.95 per share, with a total value of $214,425.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 17,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,566,953.15. This trade represents a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 3,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.02, for a total transaction of $598,468.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,406,047.76. The trade was a 29.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 8,783 shares of company stock valued at $1,462,885 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on WEX from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Evercore upgraded WEX to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $178.00 price objective on WEX in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on WEX from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of WEX from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $183.30.

WEX Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:WEX opened at $187.04 on Friday. WEX Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.29 and a 1 year high of $191.38. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $150.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.85.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $5.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.08 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $753.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $740.72 million. WEX had a net margin of 12.56% and a return on equity of 43.19%. WEX's revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.95 earnings per share. WEX has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.650 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 19.680-20.080 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that WEX Inc. will post 17.12 EPS for the current year.

WEX announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 14th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 21.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About WEX

WEX Inc is a global financial technology company specializing in business payment solutions for fleet, travel, and corporate payments. The company delivers software-driven platforms and card-based services that help businesses automate payment processes, manage expenses and improve operational efficiency across a range of industries, including transportation, healthcare and government.

Founded in 1983 as Wright Express in Portland, Maine, the company began by offering fuel card services to trucking fleets.

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