Short Interest in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) Increases By 8.0%

Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,350,000 shares, an increase of 8.0% from the December 31st total of 1,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 263,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Euronet Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $118.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Euronet Worldwide has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.14.

Insider Activity

In other Euronet Worldwide news, SVP Martin L. Bruckner sold 9,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.31, for a total value of $1,008,392.07. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,290,575.73. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin J. Caponecchi sold 52,034 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $5,547,344.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,625,603.68. This represents a 36.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 82,910 shares of company stock worth $8,780,102. 10.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Euronet Worldwide

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 45.8% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 716,539 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,102,000 after acquiring an additional 224,982 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the third quarter valued at approximately $15,258,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 127,240 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its position in Euronet Worldwide by 8.5% during the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 606,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $60,166,000 after acquiring an additional 47,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,373,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Euronet Worldwide Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of EEFT traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $97.71. The company had a trading volume of 19,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 209,261. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $101.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.00. Euronet Worldwide has a one year low of $91.07 and a one year high of $117.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.43.

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.