Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") said WEX Inc.'s (Ba2 negative) announcement that it believes the terms of its 24 January 2020 agreement to acquire eNett International (Jersey) Limited and Optal Limited (collectively eNett) no longer apply because eNett's business has had a material adverse change (MAC) as defined by the purchase agreement is credit poisitive. Although the outcome of WEX's efforts to invoke the MAC clause is uncertain, if it succeeds in avoiding closure of the acquisition or negotiating a lower price than agreed in January, and can avoid or reduce the amount of debt it would need to finance the acquisition, it would avoid a spike in its leverage, a credit positive. WEX expected to fund the $1.7 billion eNett acquisition with $425 million in common shares and $1.2 billion in debt.

Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has today downgraded Toro Private Holdings II, Limited ("Travelport" or "the company") corporate family rating (CFR) to Caa1 from B3 and its probability of default rating (PDR) to Caa1-PD from B3 PD. A full list of affected ratings is provided towards the end of this press release.

WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX) said the coronavirus pandemic created an "unprecedented environment" causing business to "slow considerably" in the first quarter.The company reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.81, $0.23 lower than the consensus estimates of $2.04."The quarter started off very strong as we expected, but like many other businesses slowed significantly toward the end as the effects of stay home orders and restrictions of non-essential businesses went into place," said Melissa Smith, WEX's chair and chief executive officer, during the company's earnings call on Thursday, May 7.Smith added, "even with a slowdown, we had strong results in our Corporate Payments and U.S. Health businesses for the quarter."The truck fleet payments and fuel card provider posted revenue of $431.7 million for the first quarter, an increase of 13% compared to $381.9 million in the first quarter of 2019.Net income attributable to shareholders on a GAAP basis decreased by $32.4 million to a net loss of $16.3 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, compared with net income of $16.1 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2019.View more earnings on WEXWEX reported a 7.3% year-over-year increase in fleet solutions revenue at $249.8 million for the first quarter. Fuel transactions processed increased 7% to $150.7 million. Payment processing transactions increased 5% to $121.6 million.Travel and Corporate Solutions' purchase volume decreased 4% to $8 billion compared to $8.4 billion in the first quarter of 2019.Wex officials also said due to the global coronavirus pandemic, the company will no longer continue with plans to acquire ENett and Optal."We have informed the owners of eNett and Optal that we have concluded that the pandemic and conditions arising in connection with it have had, and continue to have, a material adverse effect on their businesses and that WEX is not required to close the transaction," Smith said.In January, Wex announced it would acquire ENett and Optal for $1.7 billion. ENett and Optal are payment technology companies for travel suppliers like airlines and online travel agencies.Officials for ENett and Optal issued a release on Thursday, May 7, stating they "reject WEX's attempt to walk away from its binding agreement."See more from Benzinga * Former XPO Executive Tapped To Head US Postal Service * Atlas Air Gives Pilots Pay Increase On Heels Of Q1 Growth * Daseke Reports Small Adjusted Loss, Declining Flatbed Markets Plateau In Late April(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Image source: The Motley Fool. WEX Inc (NYSE: WEX)Q1 2020 Earnings CallMay 7, 2020, 9:00 a.m. ETContents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks: OperatorLadies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the WEX First Quarter 2020 Earnings Call.

Wex (WEX) doesn't possess the right combination of the two key ingredients for a likely earnings beat in its upcoming report. Get prepared with the key expectations.

WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX), a leading financial technology service provider across a wide spectrum of sectors, including fleet, travel and healthcare, announced an update to the delivery method for proxy materials to stockholders relating to the Company’s upcoming 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the "Annual Meeting"). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated delays in the printing and mailing schedules for proxy materials, the Company will not be mailing a full set of annual meeting materials to its stockholders for the Annual Meeting to be held on May 14, 2020. Instead, the Company is mailing a Notice of Internet Availability to stockholders giving the internet address where stockholders may access the annual meeting materials on-line and, to the extent they would like, request paper copies of the proxy materials. The Company began mailing this notice today.

WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX), a leading financial technology service provider, today announced it will report first quarter 2020 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, May 7. From WEX, Melissa Smith, chief executive officer, and Roberto Simon, chief financial officer, will host a conference call that morning at 9:00 a.m. ET to discuss the Company's results.

WEX will today welcome partners of WEX’s Health division to WEX Momentum, a series of complimentary virtual learning and networking events.

Chalk up another blown-up travel-related acquisition deal to the coronavirus pandemic. In this one, Maine-based Wex Inc. informed the UK's Travelport that it will not close on its $1.7 billion agreement to buy eNett and Optal, payment solutions providers, because the Covid-19 pandemic created a materially adverse effect. Travelport, which controls eNett, and Optal shareholders, […]

We hate to say this but, we told you so. On February 27th we published an article with the title Recession is Imminent: We Need A Travel Ban NOW and predicted a US recession when the S&P 500 Index was trading at the 3150 level. We also told you to short the market and buy […]

WEX's segments register year-over-year revenue growth in first-quarter 2020 on market-share expansion and recent acquisitions.

What does it take to be the best? On Wall Street, it takes a sharp eye for stocks and a clear view of what makes a winning investment – and not every analyst has that.Glenn Greene, writing on the technology sector for Oppenheimer, is one of the select few analysts to rate five stars from TipRanks. Ranked 3 overall, out of 6,546 rated analysts, Greene’s recommendations have a success rate of 81%. Even better, for the investors who follow him, Greene’s calls have brought an average return of 20.4%. With this in mind, we wanted to take a closer look at the 5-star analyst’s top picks in the business services sector. These are companies that provide day-to-day financial and payment processing services in the B2B market. While not household names, they are vital players in their niche. Let’s see why Greene sees them as compelling components for your portfolio.Fiserv, Inc. (FISV)We’ll start with, Fiserv, a provider of financial services technology for banks, credit unions, leasing and finance companies, retailers, and securities brokers and dealers. Fiserv has been in business since 1984, and reported over $10 billion in revenues for fiscal year 2019.On May 7, Fiserv reported two items of great interest to investors. First, the company announced that long-time CEO Jeffery Yabuki will step down as of July 1. He will be succeeded by COO Frank Bisignano. In the second news item that day, Fiserv reported Q1 results. At the top line, GAAP revenues increased 151% to $3.77 billion, and GAAP earnings grew by 2% to 57 cents per share. The balance sheet was solid -- Fiserv reported $888 million in net cash for the quarter, compared to $373 million in Q1 2019.Greene’s assessment of FISV is simple: he rates the stock as a Buy, and believes it has a clear path forward, stating, “FISV has seen steady weekly volume improvement since late March and into May. For perspective, volume declines approximated 30% in late March and have gradually recovered to low double-digit declines; notably better than peer trends, perhaps due to vertical or geographic volume mix. Accordingly, we expect significant but bottoming revenue/profitability pressure in 2Q20 with gradual improvement in subsequent quarters.”Along with this Buy rating, Greene give FISV a price target of $130, indicating his confidence in a solid 31.5% upside potential.Fiserv has no fewer than 19 recent analyst reviews, including an impressive 17 Buy ratings against just 2 Holds, and making the analyst consensus a Strong Buy. The average price target, $122.37, implies a 24% premium from the current trading price of $98.86. (See Fiserv stock analysis on TipRanks)FleetCor Technologies (FLT)Next on today’s list is FleetCor, a major provider of fuel cards and workforce payment services throughout the developed world, with major clients in the US, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. FleetCor’s client list includes government entities, petroleum companies, and business commercial fleets.For Q1 2020, FLT showed mixed results. Revenues grew, gaining 6% year-over-year to reach $661.1 million. At the same time, net income fell by 15% yoy to $147.1 million. Due to the pandemic, management withdrew previously published full-year 2020 guidance, citing increased uncertainty in future business activity. Shares have slipped 13% since the earnings release.In his review of FLT, Greene maintained his Buy rating, along with a $280 price target that implies a strong upside of 30%. Greene comments, “Notwithstanding near-term COVID-19-related headwinds, FLT remains well positioned to re-capture growth as end client volumes and activity normalize. Additionally, FLT maintains significant capital deployment flexibility, which we suspect could be utilized as we see some evidence of broader growth trends returning.”The Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating on FLT is based on 13 reviews, including 7 Buys and 6 Holds. The stock is selling for $215.15, and the $270.23 average price target indicates it has room for 26% upside growth over the next 12 months. (See FleetCor stock analysis on TipRanks)WEX (WEX)The last stock on today’s list is WEX, an interesting company that provides payment solutions for corporate accounts. WEX started out in the 1980s as a fleet card provider, offering gasoline payment processing for corporate motor pools, and has since expanded to offer a wider range of payment processing and information management for commercial and government vehicle fleets.Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, WEX was having a good year. The company saw earnings grow through the first three quarters of 2019, and finished the year with a $2.39 EPS in Q4. The wide-ranging, large-scale economic shutdowns put in place to help fight the pandemic hit WEX hard, however. With so many people under shelter-at-home orders, vehicle traffic declined sharply, as did the need to refuel, service, and maintain those vehicles. WEX reported just $1.62 in Q1 earnings, missing the forecast by over 10% and falling 32% sequentially. The bright spot was the year-over-year change; EPS was up 5.8% from Q1 2019.However, Glenn Greene believes that WEX remains in a solid position, with positive long-term prospects. The analyst noted, “WEX continues to see strong momentum in its US Health businesses, which realized a minimal impact from the pandemic. WEX also instituted near-term cost-cutting measures that should provide $60–65M of FY20 expense savings… We remain optimistic regarding WEX's diversified growth potential LT, however, are cautious regarding recent NT headwinds.”To this end, Greene maintained his Buy rating on WEX shares. His $175 price target suggests a robust one-year upside of 51% to the stock.Overall, WEX shares have a Moderate Buy rating from the analyst consensus. This is based on 11 recent reviews, which break down to 6 Buy and 5 Hold. Shares are priced at $116.09, and the average price target, $174.90, is in line with Greene’s, indicating room for 51% growth. (See WEX stock analysis on TipRanks)To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.

WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX), a leading financial technology service provider, today announced it will present at the following investor conferences in the month of May:

Wex (WEX) delivered earnings and revenue surprises of -11.71% and 1.32%, respectively, for the quarter ended March 2020. Do the numbers hold clues to what lies ahead for the stock?

WEX today announced the launch of its new business savings network, WEX EDGE, designed to give small fleets and small businesses a competitive edge.

WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX), a leading financial technology service provider, today announced it will present at the following upcoming investor conferences:

WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX), a leading financial technology service provider, today reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2020.

Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") has affirmed WEX Inc.'s (WEX) Ba2 corporate family, long-term senior secured debt, and senior secured bank credit facility ratings. Moody's has also revised the issuer outlook to negative from stable.

Here's a sneak peek of how these five business service stocks are placed prior to the respective earnings releases on May 7.

WEX Elects Jim Groch, Chief Investment Officer and Global Group President of CBRE Group, to its Board of Directors