Citigroup Inc. Acquires 27,454 Shares of Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY

Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) by 67.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,083 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,454 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Ryanair were worth $4,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ryanair by 658.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 992,245 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $42,041,000 after buying an additional 861,361 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Ryanair by 94.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 174,323 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,053,000 after acquiring an additional 84,511 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Ryanair in the second quarter worth about $214,000. Ovata Capital Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ryanair in the second quarter worth about $24,705,000. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ryanair by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 21,537 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on RYAAY shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 25th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ryanair presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.50.

Ryanair Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RYAAY opened at $65.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a 52 week low of $38.52 and a 52 week high of $74.24. The firm has a market cap of $34.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $68.89 and its 200-day moving average is $65.20.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The transportation company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 29.76% and a net margin of 15.04%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Ryanair Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th were given a dividend of $0.4545 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. Ryanair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.26%.

Ryanair 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.