Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens initiated coverage of Euronet Worldwide with an “equal weight” rating and a $71 price target, implying approximately 8.7% upside from the reported $65.30 share price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Euronet has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $90.17, based on three Buy, four Hold, and one Sell rating.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.82, below the $2.93 consensus estimate, although revenue increased 3.2% year over year; institutional investors own approximately 91.6% of outstanding shares.

Investment analysts at Stephens started coverage on shares of Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Friday. The brokerage set an "equal weight" rating and a $71.00 price target on the business services provider's stock. Stephens' price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.73% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Euronet Worldwide from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on Euronet Worldwide from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Euronet Worldwide from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.17.

Euronet Worldwide Stock Performance

NASDAQ EEFT traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.30. 13,540 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 687,818. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.85. Euronet Worldwide has a fifty-two week low of $61.62 and a fifty-two week high of $89.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.93 by ($0.11). Euronet Worldwide had a return on equity of 28.60% and a net margin of 6.63%. Euronet Worldwide's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Euronet Worldwide will post 9.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Euronet Worldwide

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the second quarter worth approximately $22,221,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,795,000. Walleye Trading LLC purchased a new position in Euronet Worldwide during the second quarter worth approximately $1,068,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 241,991 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $16,061,000 after buying an additional 18,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the second quarter valued at about $244,726,000. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Euronet Worldwide Company Profile

Euronet Worldwide, Inc NASDAQ: EEFT is a global electronic payments and transaction processing company. Headquartered in Leawood, Kansas, the company provides payment and financial technology services to financial institutions, retailers, mobile operators, money transfer providers and consumers.

Euronet operates through three principal business areas: electronic funds transfer processing, epay and money transfer. Its electronic funds transfer services include automated teller machine and point-of-sale processing, electronic payment solutions, outsourced transaction processing and related network services.

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