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

Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,350,000 shares, an increase of 8.0% from the December 15th total of 1,250,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 263,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup lowered shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $118.00 to $110.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $136.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.25.

Euronet Worldwide Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Euronet Worldwide stock opened at $99.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $102.97 and its 200 day moving average is $101.38. Euronet Worldwide has a 1 year low of $91.07 and a 1 year high of $117.66.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion for 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Euronet Worldwide will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Euronet Worldwide

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Euronet Worldwide

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EEFT. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 121.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 954 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Euronet Worldwide during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $100,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Euronet Worldwide during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $109,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,191 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.