WEX (NYSE:WEX) Rating Lowered to Neutral at Bank of America

WEX (NYSE:WEX) was downgraded by investment analysts at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research cut WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup lowered WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down from $207.00) on shares of WEX in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of WEX from $247.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $217.73.

WEX Trading Down 19.6 %

WEX stock traded down $36.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $150.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,193,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 392,997. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. WEX has a 52-week low of $150.00 and a 52-week high of $244.04. The firm has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $179.09 and a 200 day moving average of $186.23.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.16. WEX had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 31.35%. On average, analysts anticipate that WEX will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at WEX

In other WEX news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.44, for a total value of $33,152.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,582 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,334.08. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEX

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEX by 206.1% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in WEX during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in WEX by 108.4% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 248 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in WEX by 552.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 261 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in WEX by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.