Magnetar Financial LLC Purchases New Stake in Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT)

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,717 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,372,449 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $340,955,000 after purchasing an additional 16,220 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,064,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $105,604,000 after purchasing an additional 127,240 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 45.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 716,539 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,102,000 after purchasing an additional 224,982 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 627,149 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,496,000 after purchasing an additional 20,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Euronet Worldwide by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 566,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,208,000 after purchasing an additional 8,015 shares in the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction of $9,565,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,418,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,875,686.54. This trade represents a 6.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on EEFT shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.00.

Euronet Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EEFT opened at $108.01 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $100.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.37. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.07 and a 52-week high of $117.66.

Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.23). Euronet Worldwide had a net margin of 7.69% and a return on equity of 27.74%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Euronet Worldwide, Inc. will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Euronet Worldwide Company Profile

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.