Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires 63,785 Shares of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) by 57.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 175,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,785 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 0.40% of Euronet Worldwide worth $18,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 28.1% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 2,632 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the third quarter worth approximately $666,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 627,149 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,496,000 after purchasing an additional 20,824 shares in the last quarter. Value Holdings Management CO. LLC raised its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Value Holdings Management CO. LLC now owns 57,823 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,947,000 after purchasing an additional 31,518 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EEFT. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Euronet Worldwide from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.86.

Euronet Worldwide Price Performance

EEFT stock opened at $93.18 on Friday. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.07 and a 52 week high of $117.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last announced 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 net margin of 7.69% and a return on equity of 27.74%. Analysts anticipate that Euronet Worldwide, Inc. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael J. Brown sold 95,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.69, for a total transaction of $9,565,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,418,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,875,686.54. This represents a 6.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 10.50% of the company’s stock.

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.