WEX (NYSE:WEX) Given New $185.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group raised the price target for WEX from $138.00 to $185.00, indicating a potential upside of 6% based on the stock's previous close.
• The stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Hold" among analysts, with 12 rating it as a hold and 3 as a buy.
• WEX reported an earnings per share of $3.51 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and contributing to an annual revenue drop of 2.5%.
• Insider activity showed CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 1,400 shares while CEO Melissa D. Smith bought 3,721 shares, reflecting mixed sentiment within the company's leadership.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) had its price objective raised by UBS Group from $138.00 to $185.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the business services provider's stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on WEX. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on WEX from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on WEX from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on WEX in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on WEX from $186.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on WEX from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, WEX currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $180.25.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of WEX stock traded down $3.51 on Friday, hitting $172.44. 236,912 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 731,814. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $146.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.76. WEX has a 1-year low of $110.45 and a 1-year high of $217.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $636.60 million for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WEX will post 14.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEX

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of WEX during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of WEX during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of WEX during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other 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.