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

WEX (NYSE:WEX) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of WEX from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of WEX from $138.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of WEX from $186.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of WEX from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.82.

WEX Stock Performance

Shares of WEX stock opened at $172.15 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $167.73 and its 200 day moving average is $149.48. WEX has a 1 year low of $110.45 and a 1 year high of $217.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEX news, COO Carlos Carriedo sold 875 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $904,753.60. This trade represents a 14.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 1,931 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.69, for a total transaction of $331,533.39. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,252,478.55. This trade represents a 20.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEX

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEX. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in WEX by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 20,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,563,000 after buying an additional 6,677 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of WEX in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEX by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of WEX in the fourth quarter valued at $2,049,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEX by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 8,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.