Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Buys New Shares in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 24,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,285,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of WEX as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEX. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of WEX in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in WEX by 108.4% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 248 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in WEX by 552.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 261 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEX by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEX by 263.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 491 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on WEX. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of WEX from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on WEX from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $186.00 price target on WEX in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup cut WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on WEX from $200.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $187.80.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of WEX stock opened at $161.07 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07. The stock has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $161.28 and its 200 day moving average is $178.61. WEX Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.03 and a twelve month high of $244.04.

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

WEX 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.