Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $125.57.

EEFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a report on Friday, February 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Euronet Worldwide from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Euronet Worldwide from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Euronet Worldwide from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Euronet Worldwide Trading Down 1.0%

EEFT traded down $1.15 on Thursday, hitting $110.18. 101,819 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 351,920. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.25. Euronet Worldwide has a 12 month low of $85.24 and a 12 month high of $117.66.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13. Euronet Worldwide had a net margin of 7.69% and a return on equity of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $915.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $908.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. Euronet Worldwide's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Euronet Worldwide will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Euronet Worldwide

In other Euronet Worldwide news, CEO Michael J. Brown sold 95,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.69, for a total value of $9,565,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,418,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $142,875,686.54. This trade represents a 6.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Euronet Worldwide

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EEFT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,072,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Euronet Worldwide by 21,258.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 203,763 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $21,772,000 after purchasing an additional 202,809 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,096,300 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $112,743,000 after purchasing an additional 190,453 shares during the period. Voss Capital LP boosted its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 630,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $64,789,000 after buying an additional 113,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 738,383 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $78,896,000 after buying an additional 111,234 shares during the period. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.