Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT) Shares Down 4.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Shares fell 4.2% after UBS cut its price target from $300 to $160 (maintaining a buy rating); FLUT traded as low as about $103.35 amid lighter-than-average volume, while the consensus analyst target remains $227.65 (Moderate Buy).
• Q4 results missed — EPS $1.74 vs. $2.11 expected and revenue $4.74B vs. $4.87B — though revenue was up ~24.9% YoY; the board also approved a $250M buyback (≈1.3% of shares).
• Insider selling: CEO Amy Howe and CFO Robert Coldrake sold shares on March 11, and insiders have sold 17,834 shares (~$1.9M) in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with roughly 0.09% ownership.

Shares of Flutter Entertainment PLC (NYSE:FLUT - Get Free Report) dropped 4.2% on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $300.00 to $160.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Flutter Entertainment traded as low as $103.48 and last traded at $103.35. Approximately 2,035,480 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 4,116,376 shares. The stock had previously closed at $107.83.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Flutter Entertainment from $304.00 to $259.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Flutter Entertainment from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of Flutter Entertainment from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Flutter Entertainment from $250.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on shares of Flutter Entertainment from $275.00 to $195.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Flutter Entertainment presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Amy Howe sold 8,895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.91, for a total value of $942,069.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,355,133.99. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Robert Coldrake sold 4,613 shares of Flutter Entertainment stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $491,053.85. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,065,138.70. This represents a 31.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 17,834 shares of company stock valued at $1,900,331 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Flutter Entertainment

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parvus Asset Management Jersey Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Flutter Entertainment during the second quarter valued at about $2,231,266,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Flutter Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth about $1,678,841,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Flutter Entertainment by 146.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,039,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,728,772,000 after buying an additional 4,782,302 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Flutter Entertainment during the second quarter valued at approximately $930,349,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Flutter Entertainment by 120.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,086,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $882,064,000 after buying an additional 1,685,556 shares in the last quarter.

Flutter Entertainment Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $200.18. The firm has a market cap of $18.15 billion, a PE ratio of -57.53, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 2.30.

Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.37). Flutter Entertainment had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 1.89%.The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Flutter Entertainment PLC will post 4.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flutter Entertainment declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 11th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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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