WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 700,900 shares, a decline of 18.8% from the October 31st total of 863,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 427,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

WEX Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE WEX traded down $1.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $188.66. 170,438 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 378,049. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $194.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. WEX has a 12-month low of $165.51 and a 12-month high of $244.04. The firm has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.57.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.82 by $0.53. WEX had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 31.35%. The business had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WEX will post 13.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEX

In other news, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $101,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 7,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,000. This represents a 6.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WEX

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 1.7% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 3,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 0.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 3.3% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,238 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 40.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 301 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 47.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 277 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WEX shares. Wolfe Research cut shares of WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on WEX from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on WEX from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WEX has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.91.

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.