UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for WEX (NYSE:WEX) Stock

WEX (NYSE:WEX) had its price target upped by UBS Group from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the business services provider’s stock. UBS Group‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.58% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on WEX from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on WEX in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $209.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on WEX from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore raised WEX to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded WEX from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.10.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of WEX stock opened at $184.69 on Friday. WEX has a 52-week low of $125.29 and a 52-week high of $203.99. The stock has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $186.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.54.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $6.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.68 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $780.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $749.74 million. WEX had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 45.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.59 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that WEX will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Joel Alan Dearborn, Jr. sold 3,343 shares of WEX stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $668,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 17,021 shares in the company, valued at $3,404,200. The trade was a 16.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Melissa D. Smith sold 28,109 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.09, for a total value of $5,343,239.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 126,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,070,146.25. This represents a 18.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 34,527 shares of company stock valued at $6,558,910 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WEX

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WEX. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in WEX by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 906 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 3.6% in the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 3,187 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 8.6% in the third quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 1,551 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 97.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 267 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of WEX by 1.5% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,282,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About WEX

WEX Inc (NYSE:WEX) is a financial technology company that provides payment-processing and business-management solutions. Its products are designed to help organizations manage corporate spending, employee benefits and mobility-related expenses through specialized payment accounts, software and data tools.

WEX’s mobility business serves commercial vehicle fleets with fuel cards, fleet-payment programs, expense controls, telematics integrations and related solutions. The company also supports emerging mobility needs, including electric-vehicle charging payments.