Cove Street Capital LLC Buys Shares of 10,968 WEX Inc. $WEX

Key Points

• Cove Street Capital LLC has invested approximately $1.72 million in WEX Inc., acquiring 10,968 shares, which represents about 2.7% of its holdings and makes WEX the firm's 11th largest investment.
• Other institutional investors have also increased their stakes in WEX, with notable increases from HSBC Holdings PLC and Algert Global LLC, highlighting significant investor interest in the company.
• WEX's stock has seen a 1.1% decline recently, with analysts maintaining an average "Hold" rating and a consensus price target of $179.82.

Cove Street Capital LLC bought a new stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,968 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,722,000. WEX makes up approximately 2.7% of Cove Street Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WEX. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in WEX by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 895,406 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $140,597,000 after acquiring an additional 22,672 shares in the last quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of WEX by 0.3% in the first quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 826,188 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $129,728,000 after purchasing an additional 2,754 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 20,412.8% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 638,563 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $99,069,000 after purchasing an additional 635,450 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC grew its position in WEX by 29.5% during the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 412,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $64,731,000 after purchasing an additional 93,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in WEX by 79.5% in the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 381,767 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $59,945,000 after buying an additional 169,137 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company's stock.

WEX Stock Performance

Shares of WEX stock traded up $1.46 during trading on Monday, reaching $172.65. The company had a trading volume of 277,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 672,851. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $164.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.60. WEX Inc. has a one year low of $110.45 and a one year high of $217.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WEX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of WEX in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of WEX in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on WEX from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on WEX from $138.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on WEX in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, WEX has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $179.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 1,931 shares of WEX stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.69, for a total value of $331,533.39. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,252,478.55. This trade represents a 20.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Carlos Carriedo sold 875 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $150,220.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,270 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $904,753.60. This represents a 14.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

WEX Profile

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.