Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Makes New Investment in WEX Inc. $WEX

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 178,606 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $25,200,000. WEX comprises approximately 1.2% of Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in WEX by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,916,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $599,313,000 after purchasing an additional 44,031 shares in the last quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WEX by 21.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 400,500 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 174,079 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of WEX by 794.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 889,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $132,563,000 after buying an additional 790,271 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of WEX by 8.6% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 879,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $138,474,000 after buying an additional 69,375 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WEX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on WEX from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Mizuho raised their price objective on WEX from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised WEX from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded WEX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of WEX from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.30.

WEX Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE WEX opened at $188.83 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. WEX Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.29 and a 1-year high of $199.69. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.12. The company has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.82.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WEX Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEX declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 14th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 21.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at WEX

In related news, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.02, for a total value of $598,468.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,047.76. This represents a 29.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 1,000 shares of WEX stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.95, for a total transaction of $184,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 19,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,567,315.60. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 9,858 shares of company stock valued at $1,662,835 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.