Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT) Rating Increased to Hold at Freedom Capital

Key Points

• Freedom Capital upgraded Flutter Entertainment to “hold”, while the broader analyst view remains mixed-to-positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $187.42.
• Flutter reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, posting $1.22 EPS versus the $1.09 estimate and $4.30 billion in revenue versus $4.24 billion, with revenue up 17.4% year over year.
• The company also authorized a $250 million share buyback, and recent insider buying included purchases by CEO Daniel Mark Taylor and insider Don H. Liu, which may signal confidence in the stock.

Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Freedom Capital to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Flutter Entertainment from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Flutter Entertainment from $300.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Flutter Entertainment from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Flutter Entertainment from $210.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Flutter Entertainment from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $187.42.

Flutter Entertainment Trading Up 0.6%

FLUT opened at $98.47 on Monday. Flutter Entertainment has a twelve month low of $91.52 and a twelve month high of $313.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $102.71 and a 200-day moving average of $137.72. The stock has a market cap of $17.13 billion, a PE ratio of -46.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. Flutter Entertainment had a negative net margin of 2.20% and a positive return on equity of 11.60%. Flutter Entertainment's revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Flutter Entertainment will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Flutter Entertainment announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 11th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Daniel Mark Taylor acquired 1,611 shares of Flutter Entertainment stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $94.29 per share, with a total value of $151,901.19. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 34,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,260,925.36. The trade was a 4.89% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Don H. Liu acquired 1,459 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $102.78 per share, with a total value of $149,956.02. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 22,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,288,396.70. This represents a 7.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 10,453 shares of company stock valued at $1,045,526 and have sold 5,994 shares valued at $577,293. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Flutter Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth about $1,678,841,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Flutter Entertainment by 33,988.7% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 5,605,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,185,000 after acquiring an additional 5,589,099 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Flutter Entertainment by 146.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,039,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,728,772,000 after purchasing an additional 4,782,302 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Flutter Entertainment during the 4th quarter valued at about $694,009,000. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in Flutter Entertainment by 463.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,059,906 shares of the company's stock worth $210,007,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694,474 shares in the last quarter.

Flutter Entertainment Company Profile

Flutter Entertainment plc is a global sports betting and gaming company that operates a portfolio of consumer-facing brands and digital platforms. The company's primary activities include online sports betting, casino gaming, poker, and daily fantasy sports, delivered through web and mobile applications as well as retail betting locations in select markets. Flutter focuses on product development, customer acquisition and engagement, and compliance with local gambling regulations across the jurisdictions where it operates.

Flutter's brand portfolio includes well-known names in different regional markets, such as FanDuel in the United States, PokerStars, Betfair, Paddy Power and Sky Betting & Gaming in Europe and elsewhere.

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