AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 324,824 Shares of Flutter Entertainment PLC $FLUT

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Flutter Entertainment PLC by 247.2%, owning 456,225 shares valued at approximately $99.1 million after adding 324,824 shares in the first quarter.
• Flutter Entertainment reported a quarterly net revenue of $4.19 billion, significantly beating analysts' expectations of $3.06 billion, and it achieved an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.95.
• The company's board approved a $245 million share buyback plan, indicating confidence in its valuation and likely aiming to enhance shareholder value.

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Flutter Entertainment PLC (NYSE:FLUT - Free Report) by 247.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 456,225 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 324,824 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.26% of Flutter Entertainment worth $99,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FLUT. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Flutter Entertainment by 196.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,994,656 shares of the company's stock worth $441,916,000 after buying an additional 1,322,016 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Flutter Entertainment during the 1st quarter valued at $289,627,000. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new position in Flutter Entertainment during the 1st quarter valued at $210,940,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Flutter Entertainment by 376.4% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 855,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,304,000 after purchasing an additional 675,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Flutter Entertainment by 52.2% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,849,769 shares of the company's stock valued at $409,816,000 after purchasing an additional 634,497 shares in the last quarter.

Flutter Entertainment Stock Up 1.4%

FLUT traded up $4.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $292.06. 1,707,191 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,271,860. The stock has a market cap of $51.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.87 and a beta of 2.30. Flutter Entertainment PLC has a fifty-two week low of $196.88 and a fifty-two week high of $313.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $296.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.35.

Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.87. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.06 billion. Flutter Entertainment had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 2.96%.The business's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flutter Entertainment has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Flutter Entertainment PLC will post 4.17 EPS for the current year.

Flutter Entertainment declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, August 8th that allows the company to repurchase $245.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Daniel Mark Taylor sold 15,283 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.80, for a total value of $4,352,598.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,724,547.20. This represents a 47.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider James Philip Bishop sold 1,904 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $536,242.56. Following the sale, the insider owned 4,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,327,087.68. This trade represents a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,396 shares of company stock worth $6,759,745. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FLUT. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Flutter Entertainment in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Flutter Entertainment from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Flutter Entertainment to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Flutter Entertainment from $350.00 to $352.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Flutter Entertainment from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Flutter Entertainment has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.70.

Flutter Entertainment Profile

Flutter Entertainment plc operates as a sports betting and gaming company in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, the United States, Italy, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: UK & Ireland, Australia, International, and US. It offers sports betting, iGaming, daily fantasy sports, online racing wagering, and TV broadcasting products; sportsbooks and exchange sports betting products, and gaming products; and online sports betting.