WEX (NYSE:WEX) Given New $172.00 Price Target at UBS Group

WEX (NYSE:WEX) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $200.00 to $172.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the business services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 15.84% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research lowered WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup lowered WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America lowered WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on WEX from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.58.

WEX Trading Down 2.3 %

WEX stock traded down $3.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $148.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 452,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,551. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $178.33 and a 200-day moving average of $185.99. The stock has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.58. WEX has a one year low of $148.66 and a one year high of $244.04.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.16. WEX had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 31.35%. On average, research analysts anticipate that WEX will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.44, for a total value of $33,152.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,582 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,334.08. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEX

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of WEX by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 3,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in WEX by 5.3% in the fourth 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 boosted its stake in WEX by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of WEX by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 11,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,959,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in WEX by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 301 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is 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.