36,323 Shares in Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY Acquired by Element Squared LLC

Key Points

• Element Squared LLC initiated a new position in Ryanair Holdings, buying 36,323 shares valued at about $2.1 million in the first quarter.
• Ryanair’s latest quarter beat earnings expectations, reporting ($0.86) EPS versus the consensus estimate of ($0.95), though revenue came in below forecasts at $2.70 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $77.67, while several firms recently reiterated bullish ratings.

Element Squared LLC bought a new position in Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 36,323 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $2,099,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in RYAAY. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Ryanair by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 39,929,929 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,884,834,000 after buying an additional 2,464,742 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Ryanair by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 31,051,257 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,241,612,000 after acquiring an additional 312,323 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Ryanair by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,304,889 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $527,341,000 after acquiring an additional 985,939 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Ryanair by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,567,154 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $401,892,000 after acquiring an additional 117,639 shares during the period. Finally, Metropolis Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Ryanair by 10.8% in the first quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 3,949,246 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $228,266,000 after acquiring an additional 385,444 shares during the period. 43.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ryanair Price Performance

NASDAQ RYAAY opened at $64.75 on Wednesday. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a 12 month low of $53.14 and a 12 month high of $74.24. The stock has a market cap of $33.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.15. The company's 50 day moving average is $58.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The transportation company reported ($0.86) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.95) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Ryanair had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 25.58%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ryanair news, insider Jason Paul Mcguinness sold 12,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total value of $326,737.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 24,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $632,147.04. This represents a 34.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider John Jh Hurley sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.24, for a total value of $468,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 76,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,375,021. This represents a 16.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 126,607 shares of company stock worth $3,386,997 in the last three months.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Evercore upgraded shares of Ryanair from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ryanair from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ryanair currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.67.

About Ryanair

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.