Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup lowered Euronet Worldwide from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $118.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Euronet Worldwide from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.00.

Euronet Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EEFT traded up $0.73 during trading on Thursday, reaching $104.64. The company had a trading volume of 587,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,070. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Euronet Worldwide has a twelve month low of $91.07 and a twelve month high of $117.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $100.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.43.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.23). Euronet Worldwide had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 26.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Euronet Worldwide will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Euronet Worldwide

In other news, CEO Nikos Fountas sold 21,479 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.56, for a total value of $2,224,365.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,423,437.20. This represents a 29.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Martin L. Bruckner sold 9,397 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.31, for a total value of $1,008,392.07. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,290,575.73. This trade represents a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 82,910 shares of company stock worth $8,780,102. 10.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Euronet Worldwide

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Euronet Worldwide during the second quarter worth $200,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 5,972 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in Euronet Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth $230,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Euronet Worldwide by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,356,229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $333,039,000 after buying an additional 27,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 113.4% during the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 5,018 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company's stock.

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.