Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) Short Interest Up 8.5% in September

Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) saw a significant 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. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 369,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other Euronet Worldwide news, CEO Juan Bianchi sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.58, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,276,095.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas A. Mcdonnell bought 3,206 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $93.86 per share, for a total transaction of $300,915.16. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 90,000 shares in the company, valued at $8,447,400. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Juan Bianchi sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 10.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Euronet Worldwide

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Euronet Worldwide during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the second quarter worth $57,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 174.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 547 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Euronet Worldwide by 69.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 588 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Euronet Worldwide during the 2nd quarter worth about $80,000. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Euronet Worldwide Price Performance

EEFT stock traded down $0.44 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.79. 265,675 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 306,344. Euronet Worldwide has a twelve month low of $73.84 and a twelve month high of $117.66. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $100.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.59.

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

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.