WEX (NYSE:WEX) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $199.75 and last traded at $199.02, with a volume of 82640 shares. The stock had previously closed at $195.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WEX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on WEX from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Mizuho lifted their price target on WEX from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of WEX from $180.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of WEX from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WEX from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEX has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.30.

WEX Trading Up 1.2%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.82.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $5.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.08 by $0.27. WEX had a return on equity of 43.19% and a net margin of 12.56%.The firm had revenue of $753.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. WEX has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.650 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 19.680-20.080 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that WEX Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEX declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 21.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at WEX

In other news, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 3,400 shares of WEX stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.02, for a total value of $598,468.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,988 shares in the company, valued at $1,406,047.76. The trade was a 29.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 1,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.55, for a total transaction of $208,858.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,919.80. The trade was a 19.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,858 shares of company stock worth $1,662,835. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEX

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEX in the 2nd quarter worth $559,710,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of WEX by 1.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,916,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $599,313,000 after acquiring an additional 44,031 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in WEX during the second quarter valued at $446,833,000. Par Capital Management Inc. increased its position in WEX by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,252,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $335,503,000 after acquiring an additional 400,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in WEX by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,447,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $215,955,000 after acquiring an additional 174,079 shares during the period. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEX Company Profile

WEX Inc is a global financial technology company specializing in business payment solutions for fleet, travel, and corporate payments. The company delivers software-driven platforms and card-based services that help businesses automate payment processes, manage expenses and improve operational efficiency across a range of industries, including transportation, healthcare and government.

Founded in 1983 as Wright Express in Portland, Maine, the company began by offering fuel card services to trucking fleets.