WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,570,000 shares, a decline of 19.5% from the April 30th total of 1,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 990,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

WEX Price Performance

WEX stock traded down $1.80 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $136.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 482,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 567,850. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $131.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.44. WEX has a 12 month low of $110.45 and a 12 month high of $217.47. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.26.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $636.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $631.42 million. WEX had a return on equity of 32.35% and a net margin of 11.78%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. Analysts anticipate that WEX will post 14.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEX has been the subject of several analyst reports. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of WEX in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of WEX from $172.00 to $138.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America cut shares of WEX from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of WEX from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of WEX from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEX currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $176.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Melissa D. Smith purchased 3,721 shares of WEX stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $134.57 per share, with a total value of $500,734.97. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 101,182 shares in the company, valued at $13,616,061.74. The trade was a 3.82% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 1,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.08, for a total transaction of $183,512.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,177 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $416,441.16. This trade represents a 30.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of WEX

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in WEX by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,283 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in WEX by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 327 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in WEX by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 4,864 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in WEX by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 11,175 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,959,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its stake in WEX by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.