Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $154.67.

A number of research firms recently commented on RYAAY. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ryanair to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Barclays lowered shares of Ryanair from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Ryanair from $149.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Ryanair to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ryanair

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Ryanair by 90.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,294,414 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,239,503,000 after purchasing an additional 4,424,400 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Ryanair by 34.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,422,006 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,099,700,000 after buying an additional 3,734,770 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Ryanair by 826.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 621,773 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,399,000 after buying an additional 554,680 shares during the period. Metropolis Capital Ltd boosted its position in Ryanair by 93.0% during the 1st quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 1,083,124 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $157,692,000 after acquiring an additional 521,913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI increased its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 58.7% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 1,065,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $142,135,000 after acquiring an additional 394,300 shares during the period. 43.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ryanair Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RYAAY opened at $43.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $9.48 billion, a PE ratio of 4.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.55. Ryanair has a 1 year low of $34.87 and a 1 year high of $60.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $102.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($1.20). The business had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 20.43% and a net margin of 12.07%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ryanair will post 7.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a Variable dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.692 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Ryanair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.40%.

About Ryanair

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.