Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Zacks Research lowered shares of Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

RYAAY has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ryanair from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.97.

Ryanair Stock Down 3.4%

Ryanair stock opened at $55.41 on Monday. Ryanair has a 52-week low of $53.14 and a 52-week high of $74.24. The company has a market cap of $28.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.27.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 17th. The transportation company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 21.23% and a net margin of 12.14%. Research analysts anticipate that Ryanair will post 3.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.4434 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Ryanair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.52%.

Insider Activity at Ryanair

In related news, insider Jason Paul Mcguinness sold 9,999 shares of Ryanair stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.56, for a total transaction of $275,572.44. Following the transaction, the insider owned 14,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $394,245.80. The trade was a 41.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Jh Hurley sold 15,000 shares of Ryanair stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.24, for a total transaction of $468,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 76,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,375,021. This trade represents a 16.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Institutional Trading of Ryanair

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 977,250 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $56,485,000 after buying an additional 27,700 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ryanair in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,190,000. Maven Securities LTD purchased a new position in Ryanair in the fourth quarter worth about $11,255,000. Metropolis Capital Ltd grew its position in Ryanair by 10.8% in the first quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 3,949,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $228,266,000 after acquiring an additional 385,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Milford Funds Ltd. bought a new stake in Ryanair during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,379,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.66% of the company’s stock.

Ryanair Company Profile

Ryanair Holdings plc is an Irish low-cost airline group headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1984, the company grew into one of Europe’s largest budget carriers by offering point-to-point scheduled passenger services with an emphasis on low fares, high aircraft utilization and rapid turnaround times. Ryanair serves a broad network across Europe and nearby regions, focusing on both intra-European leisure travel and short-haul business routes.

The group primarily operates a single-type fleet based on the Boeing 737 family, supplemented by a mix of in-house and subsidiary airlines that help serve different markets and regulatory environments.