Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) was the target of a significant 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. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 263,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Euronet Worldwide Stock Performance

NASDAQ EEFT opened at $97.67 on Tuesday. Euronet Worldwide has a fifty-two week low of $91.07 and a fifty-two week high of $117.66. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $101.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.00. The company has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.43.

Insider Activity at Euronet Worldwide

In other Euronet Worldwide news, SVP Martin L. Bruckner sold 9,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.31, for a total value of $1,008,392.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,983 shares in the company, valued at $4,290,575.73. This represents a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Nikos Fountas sold 21,479 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,423,437.20. The trade was a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 82,910 shares of company stock valued at $8,780,102. Corporate insiders own 10.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new position in Euronet Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 11,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth about $354,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Euronet Worldwide by 92.3% during the fourth quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 6,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 20,788 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,138,000 after acquiring an additional 1,942 shares during the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a report on Thursday, December 12th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $136.00 price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup cut shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $110.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Euronet Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.