Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Cut to “Neutral” at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on RYAAY. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Zacks Research raised Ryanair from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Ryanair Price Performance

NASDAQ:RYAAY opened at $58.77 on Monday. Ryanair has a 1-year low of $38.52 and a 1-year high of $67.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.37.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The transportation company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.25. Ryanair had a net margin of 14.42% and a return on equity of 27.91%. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.16 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Ryanair will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.534 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a yield of 120.0%. This is an increase from Ryanair’s previous special dividend of $0.47. Ryanair’s payout ratio is 14.55%.

Institutional Trading of Ryanair

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in Ryanair during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Ryanair by 250.9% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 593 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ryanair during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd lifted its position in shares of Ryanair by 40.4% during the 2nd quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd now owns 702 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Ryanair in the second quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.66% of the company’s stock.

Ryanair Company Profile

Ryanair Holdings plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides scheduled-passenger airline services in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and internationally. It is also involved in the provision of various ancillary services, such as non-flight scheduled and Internet-related services, as well as in-flight sale of beverages, food, duty-free, and merchandise; and markets car hire, travel insurance, and accommodation services through its website and mobile app.