WEX (NYSE:WEX) Receives "Market Perform" Rating from William Blair

Key Points

• WEX's stock received a "market perform" rating from William Blair, while a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $175.08 has been established by analysts.
• Wells Fargo & Company and UBS Group recently decreased their price targets on WEX shares, indicating a cautious outlook in their reports.
• The company reported an EPS of $3.51, surpassing expectations, but experienced a 2.5% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• CEO Melissa D. Smith increased her stake in WEX by purchasing shares, while the CAO sold a portion of her holdings, reflecting mixed insider sentiment.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market perform" rating reissued by investment analysts at William Blair in a research note issued on Friday,RTT News reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on WEX. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of WEX from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of WEX from $186.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of WEX from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of WEX in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $175.08.

WEX Stock Down 0.0%

WEX stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $174.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 145,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 732,277. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.06. WEX has a 52-week low of $110.45 and a 52-week high of $217.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.10.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.11. WEX had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 39.13%. The company had revenue of $636.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $631.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that WEX will post 14.09 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Melissa D. Smith purchased 3,721 shares of WEX stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 101,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,616,061.74. The trade was a 3.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 1,400 shares of WEX 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 owned 3,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,441.16. This represents 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

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEX. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in WEX in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in WEX by 282.1% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in WEX in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in WEX by 161.5% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in WEX in the first quarter valued at $44,000. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEX Company Profile

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.

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