Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of 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 stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 369,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EEFT. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Euronet Worldwide from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Euronet Worldwide in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.33.

Euronet Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of EEFT traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.79. The company had a trading volume of 265,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 306,344. The company’s 50-day moving average is $100.64 and its 200-day moving average is $105.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 1.46. Euronet Worldwide has a twelve month low of $73.84 and a twelve month high of $117.66.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.21. Euronet Worldwide had a return on equity of 27.81% and a net margin of 7.46%. The company had revenue of $986.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Euronet Worldwide will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Euronet Worldwide

In other Euronet Worldwide news, CEO Juan Bianchi sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 12,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,095.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Thomas A. Mcdonnell bought 3,206 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $93.86 per share, with a total value of $300,915.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 90,000 shares in the company, valued at $8,447,400. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Juan Bianchi sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.58, for a total transaction of $410,320.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Euronet Worldwide

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Euronet Worldwide by 174.9% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 547 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Euronet Worldwide in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $57,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 69.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

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.