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. Based on an average daily volume of 333,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days. Approximately 4.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com cut Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Euronet Worldwide from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.00.

Euronet Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EEFT traded up $2.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $107.81. 440,894 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 310,751. Euronet Worldwide has a one year low of $91.07 and a one year high of $117.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $100.18 and a 200 day moving average of $101.02. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.37.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last issued 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Euronet Worldwide will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Brown sold 95,000 shares of the business’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 $142,875,686.54. The trade was a 6.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 10.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Euronet Worldwide

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,372,449 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $340,955,000 after purchasing an additional 16,220 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,386,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $142,575,000 after acquiring an additional 20,805 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 21.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 190,453 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,064,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,604,000 after acquiring an additional 127,240 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 821,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $84,512,000 after buying an additional 24,569 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.