WEX (NYSE:WEX) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of WEX (NYSE:WEX) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on WEX. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of WEX from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of WEX from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of WEX in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of WEX from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $179.82.

WEX Stock Performance

WEX stock opened at $167.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.31. WEX has a 1 year low of $110.45 and a 1 year high of $217.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $168.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.61.

Insider Transactions at WEX

In other WEX news, COO Carlos Carriedo sold 875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $150,220.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 5,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $904,753.60. The trade was a 14.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 1,931 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.69, for a total value of $331,533.39. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,252,478.55. The trade was a 20.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of WEX

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of WEX in the 2nd quarter valued at about $187,102,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of WEX by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,085,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $159,494,000 after purchasing an additional 17,691 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEX by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 895,406 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $140,597,000 after purchasing an additional 22,672 shares during the period. Lyrical Asset Management LP increased its holdings in shares of WEX by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 826,188 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $129,728,000 after purchasing an additional 2,754 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of WEX by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 809,658 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $118,931,000 after purchasing an additional 75,003 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.