Aurora Investment Counsel Makes New Investment in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. $EEFT

Key Points

• Aurora Investment Counsel initiated a position in Euronet Worldwide during the second quarter, purchasing 17,744 shares valued at approximately $1.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 91.6% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Euronet has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96, though Needham and DA Davidson maintain Buy ratings with targets of $90 and $102, respectively.
• Euronet reported quarterly EPS of $2.82, missing the $2.93 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 3.2% year over year. The stock recently traded at $68.62, within a 52-week range of $62.50 to $98.52.

Aurora Investment Counsel acquired a new position in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 17,744 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,299,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the 2nd quarter valued at $244,726,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 933.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,993,682 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $151,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800,837 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 131.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,308,267 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $132,632,000 after purchasing an additional 744,040 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 44.9% in the first quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,847,040 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $122,588,000 after buying an additional 572,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $37,523,000. Institutional investors own 91.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on EEFT. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Euronet Worldwide from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a report on Friday, July 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Euronet Worldwide presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $96.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas A. Mcdonnell acquired 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.87 per share, with a total value of $200,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 100,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,701,644.53. This represents a 3.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 12.19% of the company's stock.

Euronet Worldwide Price Performance

NASDAQ EEFT opened at $68.62 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average is $73.67 and its 200 day moving average is $71.42. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.50 and a fifty-two week high of $98.52.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.93 by ($0.11). Euronet Worldwide had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 28.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. Euronet Worldwide's revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Euronet Worldwide, Inc. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Euronet Worldwide Profile

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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