J2 Capital Management Inc Acquires New Holdings in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,688 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $296,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in WEX by 124.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 40,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,572,000 after buying an additional 22,638 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in WEX by 300.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 68,539 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,375,000 after buying an additional 51,423 shares in the last quarter. Maven Securities LTD purchased a new stake in shares of WEX in the second quarter valued at $2,657,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEX by 672.7% during the third quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 154,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,305,000 after acquiring an additional 134,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in WEX during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,658,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

WEX Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE WEX opened at $184.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. WEX Inc. has a one year low of $165.51 and a one year high of $244.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $178.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.58.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that WEX Inc. will post 13.09 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $207.00) on shares of WEX in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup downgraded WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $260.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.55.

Insider Activity

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