WEX (NYSE:WEX) Given New $280.00 Price Target at Barclays

WEX (NYSE:WEX) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at Barclays from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential upside of 19.85% from the stock’s previous close.

WEX has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com cut WEX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on WEX from $185.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Mizuho boosted their target price on WEX from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on WEX from $272.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of WEX in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.92.

WEX Price Performance

NYSE:WEX traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $233.62. The stock had a trading volume of 80,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 298,367. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $227.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $201.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.59. WEX has a one year low of $161.95 and a one year high of $244.04.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $663.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $656.75 million. WEX had a return on equity of 31.33% and a net margin of 10.46%. As a group, analysts expect that WEX will post 13.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.24, for a total transaction of $72,071.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 5,528 shares in the company, valued at $1,289,350.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 4,531 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.03, for a total transaction of $987,893.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $796,463.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.24, for a total value of $72,071.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,289,350.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 69,433 shares of company stock worth $14,708,896. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEX

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEX. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of WEX by 342.4% in 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. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of WEX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,745,000. Kodai Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of WEX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,750,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of WEX by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,122,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $607,482,000 after acquiring an additional 179,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lifted its stake in shares of WEX by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 598,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $108,024,000 after acquiring an additional 172,805 shares during the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.