Kepler Capital Markets Downgrades Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT) to Hold

Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT) was downgraded by equities researchers at Kepler Capital Markets from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on Flutter Entertainment from $250.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Flutter Entertainment from $280.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Texas Capital raised Flutter Entertainment to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on Flutter Entertainment from $304.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Flutter Entertainment from $300.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.65.

Flutter Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FLUT opened at $109.33 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $19.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -60.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 2.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.90. Flutter Entertainment has a fifty-two week low of $99.96 and a fifty-two week high of $313.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

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

Flutter Entertainment announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 11th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flutter Entertainment

In related news, CEO Jeremy Peter Jackson sold 4,326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.00, for a total value of $467,208.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 36,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,973,104. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert Coldrake sold 4,613 shares of Flutter Entertainment stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $491,053.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,065,138.70. This represents a 31.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 17,834 shares of company stock worth $1,900,331 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Flutter Entertainment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Makena Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Flutter Entertainment in the 3rd quarter valued at $11,517,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its position in Flutter Entertainment by 294.1% during the 3rd quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 378,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,235,000 after purchasing an additional 282,736 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Flutter Entertainment in the third quarter valued at $9,519,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flutter Entertainment in the third quarter valued at about $2,173,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Flutter Entertainment during the third quarter worth about $169,777,000.

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.