WEX (NYSE:WEX) CEO Sells 28,109 Shares of Stock

WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) CEO Melissa Smith sold 28,109 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.09, for a total value of $5,343,239.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,070,146.25. The trade was a 18.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

WEX Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WEX traded up $1.86 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $194.70. The stock had a trading volume of 376,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 575,487. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $174.85 and a 200-day moving average of $159.56. The firm has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. WEX Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.29 and a fifty-two week high of $203.99.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $5.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.08 by $0.27. WEX had a return on equity of 43.19% and a net margin of 12.56%.The company had revenue of $753.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. WEX has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.650 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 19.680-20.080 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that WEX Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

WEX announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 14th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 21.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of WEX

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of WEX by 13,928.9% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,361,984 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $756,522,000 after purchasing an additional 5,323,763 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEX during the 2nd quarter valued at $559,710,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in WEX by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,916,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $599,313,000 after purchasing an additional 44,031 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in WEX in the second quarter valued at approximately $446,833,000. Finally, Par Capital Management Inc. increased its position in WEX by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,252,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,503,000 after buying an additional 400,500 shares during the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of WEX from $180.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on WEX from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised WEX from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Mizuho increased their target price on WEX from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of WEX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $183.30.

About WEX

WEX Inc is a global financial technology company specializing in business payment solutions for fleet, travel, and corporate payments. The company delivers software-driven platforms and card-based services that help businesses automate payment processes, manage expenses and improve operational efficiency across a range of industries, including transportation, healthcare and government.

Founded in 1983 as Wright Express in Portland, Maine, the company began by offering fuel card services to trucking fleets.