Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Key Points

• Euronet Worldwide shares fell sharply, opening at $77.05 versus the prior close of $83.67 and last trading at $75.86 after the earnings release.
• Quarterly EPS came in at $2.82, below the $2.97 consensus, while revenue of $1.11 billion also missed estimates of $1.14 billion. Revenue nevertheless increased 3.2% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a mixed outlook, with an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95; institutional investors own 91.6% of the company.

Shares of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $83.67, but opened at $77.05. Euronet Worldwide shares last traded at $75.86, with a volume of 201,703 shares traded.

The business services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Euronet Worldwide had a return on equity of 28.37% and a net margin of 7.15%.Euronet Worldwide's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on EEFT. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Euronet Worldwide from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.00.

Insider Activity

In other Euronet Worldwide news, Director Thomas A. Mcdonnell bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.87 per share, for a total transaction of $200,610.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 100,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,701,644.53. This represents a 3.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 12.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Euronet Worldwide

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EEFT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,767,279 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $286,728,000 after purchasing an additional 26,416 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 933.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,993,682 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $151,739,000 after buying an additional 1,800,837 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 44.9% in the 1st quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,847,040 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $122,588,000 after buying an additional 572,194 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,627,141 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $119,091,000 after buying an additional 136,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,406,556 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $93,353,000 after buying an additional 48,990 shares during the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Euronet Worldwide Trading Down 8.9%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.83.

About Euronet Worldwide

Euronet Worldwide, Inc is a global financial technology company specializing in electronic payment services and transaction processing. Through its three primary business segments—Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Network Services, epay® Prepaid and Payment Services, and Money Transfer—Euronet provides end-to-end solutions that enable secure, efficient and convenient payments for consumers, financial institutions and retailers worldwide.

In its EFT Network Services arm, Euronet operates one of the world's largest ATM and point-of-sale (POS) terminal networks, offering deployment, management and connectivity services.

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