Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $125.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Euronet Worldwide from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Euronet Worldwide from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Euronet Worldwide from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Euronet Worldwide currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $124.11.

Euronet Worldwide Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ EEFT opened at $99.78 on Wednesday. Euronet Worldwide has a 12-month low of $73.84 and a 12-month high of $117.66. The company has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.74.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $986.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Euronet Worldwide had a return on equity of 27.81% and a net margin of 7.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Euronet Worldwide will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas A. Mcdonnell bought 3,206 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $93.86 per share, for a total transaction of $300,915.16. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 90,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,447,400. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 10.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Euronet Worldwide

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EEFT. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $23,728,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Euronet Worldwide by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 46,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,690,000 after acquiring an additional 18,262 shares during the last quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 221,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,435,000 after acquiring an additional 16,358 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 4.5% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 567,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,337,000 after purchasing an additional 24,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Euronet Worldwide during the first quarter worth $1,638,000. 91.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Euronet Worldwide Company Profile

Euronet Worldwide, Inc provides payment and transaction processing and distribution solutions to financial institutions, retailers, service providers, and individual consumers worldwide. It operates through three segments: Electronic Fund Transfer Processing, epay, and Money Transfer. The Electronic Fund Transfer Processing segment provides electronic payment solutions, including automated teller machine (ATM) cash withdrawal and deposit services, ATM network participation, outsourced ATM and point-of-sale (POS) management solutions, credit and debit and prepaid card outsourcing, card issuing, and merchant acquiring services.