Brokerages Set WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) Price Target at $179.82

Shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $179.8182.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WEX. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of WEX from $138.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of WEX from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of WEX from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of WEX in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of WEX from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEX news, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 1,931 shares of WEX stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.69, for a total value of $331,533.39. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,252,478.55. The trade was a 20.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Carlos Carriedo sold 875 shares of WEX stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $150,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 5,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $904,753.60. This represents a 14.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in WEX by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in WEX by 22.1% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 376 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in WEX by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC raised its position in shares of WEX by 5.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of WEX by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 35,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,153,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of WEX opened at $163.99 on Friday. WEX has a 1-year low of $110.45 and a 1-year high of $217.47. The stock has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $168.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.73.

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.