Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Hold Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Flutter Entertainment in a report on Thursday, May 14th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research lowered their price target on Flutter Entertainment from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Flutter Entertainment in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Flutter Entertainment from $175.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Flutter Entertainment from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.04.

Flutter Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FLUT opened at $108.21 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $18.82 billion, a PE ratio of -50.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.31. Flutter Entertainment has a 12 month low of $91.52 and a 12 month high of $313.68.

Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.13. Flutter Entertainment had a positive return on equity of 11.60% and a negative net margin of 2.20%.The company had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. Flutter Entertainment’s revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Flutter Entertainment will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Flutter Entertainment announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 11th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flutter Entertainment news, insider Don H. Liu purchased 1,459 shares of Flutter Entertainment stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $102.78 per share, with a total value of $149,956.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 22,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,288,396.70. This trade represents a 7.01% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John A. Bryant acquired 1,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $102.86 per share, for a total transaction of $200,577.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,235 shares in the company, valued at $949,912.10. The trade was a 26.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 10,453 shares of company stock valued at $1,045,526 and have sold 5,994 shares valued at $577,293. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flutter Entertainment

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

About Flutter Entertainment

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.