Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.50.

RYAAY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ryanair from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th.

Ryanair Stock Performance

Shares of RYAAY opened at $65.49 on Friday. Ryanair has a 1 year low of $38.52 and a 1 year high of $74.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.05. The company has a market capitalization of $34.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.23. 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 (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The transportation company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 29.76% and a net margin of 15.04%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ryanair will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Ryanair Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.4545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Ryanair’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.26%.

Institutional Trading of Ryanair

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RYAAY. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Ryanair during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 280.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 472 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Ryanair by 76.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 484 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Ryanair by 1,057.4% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 544 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Ryanair by 250.9% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 593 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. 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.