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

Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,350,000 shares, a growth of 8.0% from the December 31st total of 1,250,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 263,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Insider Activity at Euronet Worldwide

In related 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 directly owns 39,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,290,575.73. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikos Fountas sold 21,479 shares of Euronet Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.56, for a total transaction of $2,224,365.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,423,437.20. The trade was a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,910 shares of company stock worth $8,780,102 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Euronet Worldwide

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 121.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 954 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 989 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth $100,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 21.6% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Euronet Worldwide Price Performance

EEFT stock opened at $97.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $101.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.00. Euronet Worldwide has a 52-week low of $91.07 and a 52-week high of $117.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.