Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) Short Interest Up 16.6% in February

Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) was the target of a large 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 333,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days. Approximately 4.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael J. Brown sold 95,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,418,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,875,686.54. This represents a 6.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Euronet Worldwide

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brucke Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $308,000. Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $1,461,000. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,096,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $112,743,000 after buying an additional 190,453 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 4,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, CSS LLC IL bought a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $462,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Euronet Worldwide Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EEFT traded up $2.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $107.81. 440,894 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 310,751. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $100.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.02. Euronet Worldwide has a twelve month low of $91.07 and a twelve month high of $117.66.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.23). Euronet Worldwide had a return on equity of 27.74% and a net margin of 7.69%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Euronet Worldwide will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EEFT. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.00.

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.