Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $76.00.

RYAAY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Ryanair from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Zacks Research downgraded Ryanair from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Monday, December 15th.

Ryanair Stock Down 1.0%

RYAAY stock opened at $68.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $68.46 and a 200-day moving average of $63.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. Ryanair has a one year low of $38.52 and a one year high of $74.24.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The transportation company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.14. Ryanair had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.44 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Ryanair will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Ryanair Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be given a dividend of $0.4545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Ryanair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ryanair

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Ryanair by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 30,738,934 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,851,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,911 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Ryanair by 2.7% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,465,187 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,250,932,000 after buying an additional 1,002,457 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ryanair by 658.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 992,245 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $42,041,000 after buying an additional 861,361 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Ryanair by 23.8% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,800,393 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $161,499,000 after acquiring an additional 539,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Ryanair by 315.0% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 655,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $39,445,000 after acquiring an additional 497,174 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.