Bank of Nova Scotia Makes New $800,000 Investment in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. $EEFT

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia acquired 12,050 shares of Euronet Worldwide valued at approximately $800,000. Institutional investors collectively own 91.6% of the company, with several major funds increasing their positions.
• Euronet reported quarterly EPS of $1.58, beating estimates of $1.42, while revenue reached $1.01 billion, up 10.5% year over year. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $9.83.
• EEFT shares opened at $83.67, above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Analyst opinion is mixed, with an overall “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $95.

Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,050 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $800,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,767,279 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $286,728,000 after buying an additional 26,416 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 933.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,993,682 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $151,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800,837 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its position in Euronet Worldwide by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,348,340 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $102,623,000 after acquiring an additional 268,542 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Euronet Worldwide by 131.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,308,267 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $132,632,000 after acquiring an additional 744,040 shares during the period. Finally, Van Berkom & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 1,291,075 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $98,264,000 after acquiring an additional 185,727 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company's stock.

Euronet Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of EEFT stock opened at $83.67 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $72.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $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. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. has a one year low of $62.50 and a one year high of $105.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.83.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $969.68 million. Euronet Worldwide had a net margin of 7.15% and a return on equity of 28.37%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Euronet Worldwide, Inc. will post 9.83 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Euronet Worldwide Company 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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