Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup cut shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $118.00 to $110.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Euronet Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $136.00 price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Euronet Worldwide has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.25.

Euronet Worldwide Stock Performance

EEFT stock opened at $98.15 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Euronet Worldwide has a 1 year low of $91.07 and a 1 year high of $117.66. The company has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $102.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.34.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Euronet Worldwide had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 26.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Euronet Worldwide will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Euronet Worldwide

In other Euronet Worldwide news, SVP Martin L. Bruckner sold 9,397 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.31, for a total transaction of $1,008,392.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,290,575.73. This represents a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin J. Caponecchi sold 52,034 shares of Euronet Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $5,547,344.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,288 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,603.68. This trade represents a 36.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 82,910 shares of company stock valued at $8,780,102. 10.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Euronet Worldwide by 121.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 954 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 989 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $100,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Euronet Worldwide in the third quarter worth $109,000. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.