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

Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) saw a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 927,300 shares, an increase of 8.5% from the August 31st total of 854,800 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 369,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insider Activity at Euronet Worldwide

In other Euronet Worldwide news, Director Thomas A. Mcdonnell purchased 3,206 shares of the business’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 $8,447,400. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas A. Mcdonnell purchased 3,206 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $93.86 per share, for a total transaction of $300,915.16. Following the purchase, the director now owns 90,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,447,400. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Juan Bianchi sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.58, for a total value of $410,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,095.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Euronet Worldwide

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EEFT. Ophir Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $31,186,000. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 67.8% during the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 746,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $75,770,000 after purchasing an additional 301,771 shares during the last quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP bought a new position in Euronet Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $23,728,000. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 579,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,797,000 after purchasing an additional 196,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 6,250.4% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 141,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,602,000 after purchasing an additional 139,697 shares during the period. 91.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Euronet Worldwide Stock Performance

EEFT traded down $0.44 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $98.79. 265,675 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 306,344. Euronet Worldwide has a one year low of $73.84 and a one year high of $117.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $100.64 and its 200 day moving average is $105.59. 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 has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 1.46.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $986.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Euronet Worldwide had a net margin of 7.46% and a return on equity of 27.81%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Euronet Worldwide will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $121.00 price objective on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.33.

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.