Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Position Cut by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,830 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,326 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Ryanair were worth $1,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Ryanair by 2.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,320,082 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,003,215,000 after purchasing an additional 259,703 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in Ryanair by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 9,389,236 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,252,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197,812 shares during the period. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Ryanair by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,737,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $365,121,000 after purchasing an additional 246,850 shares during the period. Lansdowne Partners UK LLP lifted its position in Ryanair by 17.8% in the third quarter. Lansdowne Partners UK LLP now owns 2,081,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $202,301,000 after purchasing an additional 314,588 shares during the period. Finally, Trinity Street Asset Management LLP lifted its position in Ryanair by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 1,544,600 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $205,988,000 after purchasing an additional 168,900 shares during the period. 43.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ryanair Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RYAAY opened at $142.55 on Wednesday. Ryanair Holdings plc has a one year low of $87.18 and a one year high of $150.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $141.64 and a 200-day moving average of $126.30. The company has a market capitalization of $32.50 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The transportation company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.28). Ryanair had a net margin of 15.64% and a return on equity of 29.39%. The company had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ryanair Holdings plc will post 9.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Ryanair from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.50.

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.