WEX (NYSE:WEX) Given New $170.00 Price Target at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays raised its price target for WEX from $135.00 to $170.00, while still maintaining an "equal weight" rating, indicating a potential downside of 3.14% from the current price.
• WEX reported earnings of $3.51 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $3.40, with revenues of $636.60 million, a 2.5% decrease year-over-year.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds hold approximately 97.47% of WEX's stock, with significant recent investments from firms like JPMorgan Chase and HSBC Holdings.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) had its target price lifted by Barclays from $135.00 to $170.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on WEX. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of WEX from $186.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on WEX in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of WEX from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of WEX from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of WEX from $138.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEX presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $180.25.

WEX Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of WEX stock traded down $2.14 during trading on Monday, hitting $171.92. 464,614 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 733,441. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $146.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.23. WEX has a twelve month low of $110.45 and a twelve month high of $217.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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

Insider Activity at WEX

In related news, CEO Melissa D. Smith acquired 3,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owned 101,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,616,061.74. This trade represents a 3.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,177 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of WEX in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of WEX during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of WEX by 282.1% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of WEX by 72.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of WEX by 161.5% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. 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.