Robert W. Baird Increases WEX (NYSE:WEX) Price Target to $285.00

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $272.00 to $285.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the business services provider's stock. Robert W. Baird's target price points to a potential upside of 22.33% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on WEX. Barclays raised their price objective on WEX from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of WEX from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of WEX from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. TheStreet raised shares of WEX from a "c" rating to a "b" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on WEX from $205.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEX presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.00.

WEX Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE WEX traded down $2.90 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $232.98. 173,574 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 301,443. The company has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a PE ratio of 38.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $226.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $201.01. 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 has a one year low of $161.95 and a one year high of $244.04.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.29 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $663.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $656.75 million. WEX had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 31.33%. On average, equities analysts predict that WEX will post 13.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at WEX

In related news, CEO Melissa D. Smith sold 41,107 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $8,426,935.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,998 shares in the company, valued at $16,809,590. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 574 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.24, for a total transaction of $127,565.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $288,245.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Melissa D. Smith sold 41,107 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $8,426,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,809,590. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, 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

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA purchased a new stake in WEX during the 1st quarter valued at $215,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in WEX in the first quarter worth $29,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in WEX by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,199,017 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $816,919,000 after acquiring an additional 67,893 shares during the period. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in WEX in the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WEX by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,178 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,342,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the period. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by 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.