Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $154.67.

A number of research firms have commented on RYAAY. HSBC cut shares of Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Citigroup raised Ryanair to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Hsbc Global Res raised Ryanair to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ryanair to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Ryanair from $149.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th.

Ryanair Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RYAAY opened at $116.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. Ryanair has a fifty-two week low of $87.18 and a fifty-two week high of $150.73. The stock has a market cap of $25.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $106.05 and a 200-day moving average of $121.85.

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

Ryanair Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.692 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. Ryanair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.40%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ryanair

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

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.