Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $70.97, but opened at $68.73. Ryanair shares last traded at $69.6940, with a volume of 737,223 shares.

The transportation company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.08). The company 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 31.32% and a net margin of 16.29%.

Ryanair Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a $0.4545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. Ryanair’s dividend payout ratio is 13.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RYAAY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Ryanair from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ryanair presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ryanair

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RYAAY. Bingham Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Ryanair in the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 151.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 355,617 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,672,000 after buying an additional 213,948 shares during the period. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ryanair in the fourth quarter worth approximately $260,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Ryanair by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 31,047 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,241,000 after acquiring an additional 11,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,170 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,545 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.66% of the company’s stock.

Ryanair Trading Down 1.6%

The company’s 50-day moving average is $69.03 and its 200 day moving average is $64.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $36.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.25.

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.