Mizuho Issues Pessimistic Forecast for WEX (NYSE:WEX) Stock Price

WEX (NYSE:WEX) had its target price cut by investment analysts at Mizuho from $215.00 to $170.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 9.50% from the stock’s previous close.

WEX has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on WEX from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Citigroup downgraded shares of WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on WEX from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEX currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $199.73.

WEX Trading Up 0.6 %

WEX stock opened at $155.25 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $176.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.51. The company has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.58. WEX has a 52 week low of $146.03 and a 52 week high of $244.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.16. WEX had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 32.35%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that WEX will post 14.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at WEX

In related news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.44, for a total transaction of $33,152.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,334.08. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WEX

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in WEX by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 14,995 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,629,000 after acquiring an additional 2,662 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in WEX by 217.3% during the 4th quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,808 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in WEX by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 29,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,283,000 after acquiring an additional 3,439 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of WEX in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,490,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in WEX during the 4th quarter worth $354,000. 97.47% of the stock is currently 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.