WEX (NYSE:WEX) Research Coverage Started at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of WEX (NYSE:WEX) in a research note released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $150.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock.

WEX has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on WEX from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on WEX in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on WEX from $172.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on WEX from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.45.

WEX Price Performance

WEX stock opened at $153.38 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $142.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.28. WEX has a one year low of $110.45 and a one year high of $217.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.23.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.11. WEX had a return on equity of 37.90% and a net margin of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $636.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $631.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that WEX will post 14.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at WEX

In other news, CEO Melissa D. Smith acquired 3,721 shares of WEX stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $134.57 per share, with a total value of $500,734.97. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 101,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,616,061.74. This trade represents a 3.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.08, for a total value of $183,512.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $416,441.16. This trade represents a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEX

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WEX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of WEX by 105.8% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,046,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $358,812,000 after buying an additional 1,052,087 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of WEX by 2.6% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 895,406 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $140,597,000 after buying an additional 22,672 shares in the last quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of WEX by 0.3% in the first quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 826,188 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $129,728,000 after buying an additional 2,754 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of WEX by 20,412.8% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 638,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,069,000 after buying an additional 635,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of WEX by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 602,693 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $105,653,000 after buying an additional 18,331 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

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.