UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for WEX (NYSE:WEX) Stock Price

WEX (NYSE:WEX) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at UBS Group from $172.00 to $138.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the business services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.98% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $260.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America cut WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho dropped their price target on WEX from $215.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on WEX from $200.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $186.00 target price on shares of WEX in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.40.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEX opened at $124.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $141.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.33. WEX has a 1-year low of $110.45 and a 1-year high of $217.47.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $636.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $631.42 million. WEX had a return on equity of 32.35% and a net margin of 11.78%. WEX’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. Research analysts expect that WEX will post 14.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEX

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEX. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEX by 50.2% in the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 30,841 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,843,000 after acquiring an additional 10,310 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new position in WEX in the first quarter worth about $243,000. Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of WEX by 5.5% during the first quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 7,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 144,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,745,000 after buying an additional 824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC grew its position in shares of WEX by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 101 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.