Back to top

Image: Bigstock

WEX Scales 52-Week High on Impressive Strategic Alliances

Read MoreHide Full Article

Shares of WEX Inc. (WEX - Free Report) hit a 52-week high of $108.86 on Sep 30, 2016. The stock price appreciation was driven by WEX Australia’s multi-year contract extension with Caltex and the virtual payment solution offering through the partnership between WEX and Argo Solutions. About 3.1 million shares exchanged hands in the last trading session and the stock finally closed at $108.09, up 0.8%. Year to date, the stock has returned 22.26%. This is better than 6.08% returned by the S&P 500.

Recently, WEX’s Australian unit entered into a multi-year fuel card system processing contract with Caltex. The contract extension will not only strengthen the relationship between the companies, but also help them in streamlining the fuel card business process. The extended agreement will allow WEX Australia to continue serving the fleet card customers of Caltex with payment processing services.

WEX is an industry-leading corporate payment solutions provider that caters to the needs of clients and partners through its worldwide operations. The recent contract extension will enable the financial transaction services provider to widen its reach and enhance its operational performance. As a result, the company will now be able to accelerate growth and witness better results.

Further, the company teamed up with Argo Solutions to introduce a personalized virtual payment solution, WEX VCN (Virtual Card Number). The new payment solution will solidify the financial transaction services provider’s presence in Brazil as well as help it to gain greater market share in the region.

The WEX VCN solution has been widely accepted in other regions and has been gaining popularity in Brazil in recent times. Therefore, the partnership with Argo Solutions will help Wex expand its virtual card adoption on the online booking tool.

Latin America is fast becoming one of the most promising regions in terms of travel payments and VCN is yet to tap the opportunities offered by this market. Thus, the introduction of this payment solution will allow Wex to support the local businesses and capitalize on the growth opportunities. Also, the WEX VCN solution will help Wex solidify its presence in Latin America and boost its corporate payment solutions.

Thus, these factors not only resulted in a 52-week high but also led to upward estimate revisions for both 2016 and 2017, over the last 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate inched up 0.8% and 1.6% for 2016 and 2017, respectively, over the same time period.

Currently WEX holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

WEX INC Price and Consensus

 

WEX INC Price and Consensus | WEX INC Quote

Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the finance sector may also consider Equifax Inc. (EFX - Free Report) , MasterCard Incorporated (MA - Free Report) and National Interstate Corporation (NATL - Free Report) .

National Interstate, a specialty property and casualty insurer, saw the Zacks Consensus Estimate increasing 7.6% and 7.3% for 2016 and 2017, respectively, over the last 60 days. The company sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Equifax, a financial transaction services provider, witnessed its Zacks Consensus Estimate inch up 0.4% and 0.2% for 2016 and 2017, respectively, over the last 60 days. The company holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

MasterCard, another financial transaction services provider, saw its Zacks Consensus Estimate inch up 0.8% and 0.9% for 2016 and 2017, respectively, over the last 60 days. The insurer has a Zacks Rank #2.

Confidential from Zacks

Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>>