WEX (NYSE:WEX) PT Raised to $280.00 at Citigroup

WEX (NYSE:WEX) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $240.00 to $280.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 21.82% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on WEX from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of WEX from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of WEX from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of WEX in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on WEX from $272.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEX currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.00.

WEX Stock Performance

Shares of WEX stock opened at $229.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. WEX has a one year low of $161.95 and a one year high of $244.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $229.30 and its 200 day moving average is $202.01.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.29 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $663.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $656.75 million. WEX had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 31.33%. Sell-side analysts expect that WEX will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.24, for a total value of $72,071.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 5,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,289,350.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other WEX news, CEO Melissa D. Smith sold 41,107 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $8,426,935.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 81,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,809,590. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 309 shares of WEX stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.24, for a total value of $72,071.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,528 shares in the company, valued at $1,289,350.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,433 shares of company stock worth $14,708,896 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WEX

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in WEX by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,199,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $816,919,000 after purchasing an additional 67,893 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in WEX by 1.2% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,107,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $732,950,000 after purchasing an additional 49,480 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,101,566 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $731,925,000 after purchasing an additional 164,902 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of WEX by 342.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,059,893 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $337,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,594,294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in WEX by 3.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,336,884 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $245,840,000 after buying an additional 39,312 shares during 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.