Short Interest in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) Declines By 15.2%

by · The Cerbat Gem

Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT – Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,510,000 shares, a drop of 15.2% from the March 15th total of 1,780,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 429,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reaffirmed 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 downgraded Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Euronet Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.86.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Euronet Worldwide

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Brown sold 95,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 6.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Euronet Worldwide

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 2.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,833 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the 1st quarter worth $1,400,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 5,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 6.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,929 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 46.4% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,721 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496 shares in the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Euronet Worldwide Price Performance

EEFT opened at $94.30 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $100.93 and a 200 day moving average of $101.00. Euronet Worldwide has a 52-week low of $85.24 and a 52-week high of $117.66. The stock has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.18.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 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.

About Euronet Worldwide

(Get Free Report)

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.

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