Short Interest in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) Expands By 16.6%

Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of 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 shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 333,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days.

Insider Transactions at Euronet Worldwide

In related news, CEO Michael J. Brown sold 95,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was 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 $142,875,686.54. This represents a 6.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Euronet Worldwide

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 161,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,004,000 after buying an additional 8,230 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $666,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 627,149 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $64,496,000 after buying an additional 20,824 shares during the period. Finally, Value Holdings Management CO. LLC raised its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Value Holdings Management CO. LLC now owns 57,823 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,947,000 after buying an additional 31,518 shares during the period. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Euronet Worldwide Stock Performance

NASDAQ EEFT opened at $108.39 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.37. Euronet Worldwide has a fifty-two week low of $91.07 and a fifty-two week high of $117.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.23). Euronet Worldwide had a net margin of 7.69% and a return on equity of 27.74%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Euronet Worldwide will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.