WEX (NYSE:WEX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Robert W. Baird Analyst Says

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) had its target price raised by Robert W. Baird from $186.00 to $198.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of WEX from $172.00 to $138.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of WEX in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on WEX from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on WEX from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on WEX in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $179.00.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of WEX stock traded up $1.43 on Thursday, reaching $175.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 745,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,946. The company has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.23. WEX has a 12-month low of $110.45 and a 12-month high of $217.47. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $145.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.11. WEX had a return on equity of 41.87% and a net margin of 11.79%. The firm had revenue of $636.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $631.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that WEX will post 14.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEX

In other news, CEO Melissa D. Smith acquired 3,721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $134.57 per share, with a total value of $500,734.97. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 101,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,616,061.74. The trade was a 3.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 1,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.08, for a total value of $183,512.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,177 shares in the company, valued at $416,441.16. The trade was a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of WEX by 120.4% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 8,688 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,523,000 after buying an additional 4,746 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in WEX during the 4th quarter valued at $1,490,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in WEX by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 29,408 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,283,000 after purchasing an additional 3,439 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of WEX by 105.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,046,614 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $358,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,087 shares during the period. Finally, IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd boosted its stake in shares of WEX by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 3,574 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. 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.