Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) Short Interest Update

Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,690,000 shares, an increase of 16.6% from the February 13th total of 1,450,000 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 333,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EEFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.00.

Insider Activity at Euronet Worldwide

In related news, CEO Michael J. Brown sold 95,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.69, for a total value of $9,565,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,418,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,875,686.54. This trade represents a 6.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 10.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Euronet Worldwide

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EEFT. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Euronet Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Euronet Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 713 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 15,240.0% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 767 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 485.6% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Euronet Worldwide Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of EEFT stock opened at $107.81 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $100.33 and a 200-day moving average of $101.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Euronet Worldwide has a 12-month low of $91.07 and a 12-month high of $117.66. The firm has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.37.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.23). Euronet Worldwide had a return on equity of 27.74% and a net margin of 7.69%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Euronet Worldwide will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

About Euronet Worldwide

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.