Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Holdings in Flutter Entertainment PLC $FLUT

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its stake in Flutter Entertainment PLC by 8.1% in the first quarter, now owning 16,799 shares valued at approximately $3.72 million.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their stakes in Flutter Entertainment, with Mirae Asset Global Investments raising its stake by 326.7%, owning 3,243 shares worth $742,000.
• Flutter Entertainment's Q2 earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $2.95 EPS and revenue of $4.19 billion, leading to several analysts raising their price targets for the stock.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Flutter Entertainment PLC (NYSE:FLUT - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,799 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,479 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Flutter Entertainment were worth $3,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FLUT. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Flutter Entertainment by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the company's stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Flutter Entertainment by 101.0% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 7,140 shares of the company's stock worth $1,845,000 after purchasing an additional 3,588 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Flutter Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new position in shares of Flutter Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flutter Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth about $1,287,000.

Flutter Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of FLUT stock traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $300.64. 2,410,092 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,301,774. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $290.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $262.24. Flutter Entertainment PLC has a 1-year low of $196.88 and a 1-year 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 firm has a market cap of $52.94 billion, a PE ratio of 148.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 2.31.

Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Flutter Entertainment had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.06 billion. Flutter Entertainment's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flutter Entertainment has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Flutter Entertainment PLC will post 4.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flutter Entertainment declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, August 8th that allows the company to buyback $245.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Flutter Entertainment

In other news, Director Christine M. Mccarthy sold 264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.12, for a total transaction of $64,447.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 559 shares of the company's stock, valued at $136,463.08. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Alfred F. Hurley, Jr. sold 265 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.94, for a total transaction of $64,644.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $858,180.92. This trade represents a 7.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,754 shares of company stock worth $6,108,064. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $365.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Flutter Entertainment in a report on Friday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Flutter Entertainment from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on Flutter Entertainment from $295.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Flutter Entertainment in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Flutter Entertainment from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Flutter Entertainment currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.70.

About Flutter Entertainment

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.