StockNews.com Downgrades Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on EEFT. Oppenheimer lowered 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. 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. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.00.

Euronet Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of EEFT opened at $101.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Euronet Worldwide has a one year low of $91.07 and a one year high of $117.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $101.04 and a 200 day moving average of $101.21.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.82 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Euronet Worldwide will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Caponecchi sold 52,034 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,288 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,603.68. The trade was a 36.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Martin L. Bruckner sold 9,397 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,910 shares of company stock worth $8,780,102 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Euronet Worldwide

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EEFT. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 713 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 15,240.0% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 767 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 485.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.