Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT) Cut to "Hold" at Peel Hunt

Key Points

• Flutter Entertainment's stock received a "hold" rating from Peel Hunt, reaffirming the sentiment among three analysts while 21 others issued a buy rating.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.95, significantly beating expectations and reflecting a 16.0% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the same period last year.
• Despite positive earnings, shares have seen insider selling, with directors offloading stock in recent transactions, including a 35.86% decrease in one director's position.

Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Peel Hunt from an "add" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on FLUT. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Flutter Entertainment from $315.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Flutter Entertainment from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of Flutter Entertainment from $323.00 to $289.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Flutter Entertainment from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Flutter Entertainment from $295.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $328.62.

Flutter Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of FLUT opened at $281.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.69 billion, a PE ratio of 138.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 2.31. Flutter Entertainment has a one year low of $183.18 and a one year high of $313.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company's fifty day moving average price is $283.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.30.

Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.87. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.06 billion. Flutter Entertainment had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Flutter Entertainment will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Flutter Entertainment announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, August 8th that allows the company to repurchase $245.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flutter Entertainment news, Director Holly K. Koeppel sold 267 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.36, for a total value of $65,511.12. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,556 shares in the company, valued at $627,140.16. The trade was a 9.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Carolan Lennon sold 430 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.71, for a total transaction of $105,655.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $188,950.99. This trade represents a 35.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,455 shares of company stock valued at $601,632 over the last 90 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flutter Entertainment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FLUT. Parvus Asset Management Europe Ltd acquired a new position in Flutter Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,146,227,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flutter Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $494,291,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Flutter Entertainment by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,426,515 shares of the company's stock worth $3,986,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635,241 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Flutter Entertainment by 196.5% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,994,656 shares of the company's stock worth $441,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flutter Entertainment during the first quarter worth approximately $289,627,000.

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.