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

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

WEX Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WEX traded down $1.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $188.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 170,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 378,049. WEX has a 12-month low of $165.51 and a 12-month high of $244.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $194.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.57. 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 (NYSE:WEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.82 by $0.53. WEX had a return on equity of 31.35% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.44 earnings per share. WEX’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that WEX will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on WEX shares. Wolfe Research lowered WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on WEX from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on WEX from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, WEX has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.91.

Insider Transactions at WEX

In related news, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $101,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,424,000. The trade was a 6.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEX

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in WEX in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in WEX during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,507,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in WEX by 112.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $998,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group bought a new stake in WEX during the 3rd quarter valued at $251,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in WEX by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

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.