WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) Short Interest Update

WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,130,000 shares, an increase of 163.1% from the March 15th total of 1,950,000 shares. Currently, 13.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 973,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of WEX traded down $4.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $122.60. 617,560 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 543,692. WEX has a 52 week low of $110.45 and a 52 week high of $235.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $148.30 and a 200-day moving average of $172.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.33.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.16. WEX had a return on equity of 32.35% and a net margin of 11.78%. On average, analysts forecast that WEX will post 14.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WEX. Citigroup cut shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on WEX from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of WEX from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WEX has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $187.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in WEX during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in WEX in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in WEX in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of WEX by 108.4% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of WEX by 552.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 261 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. 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.