Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Stake Lifted by AIA Group Ltd

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd has significantly increased its stake in Ryanair Holdings PLC, acquiring an additional 36,720 shares, raising its ownership by 58.5% to a total of 99,464 shares valued at approximately $4.2 million.
• Analysts are optimistic about Ryanair, with multiple firms issuing "outperform" and "buy" ratings, and a consensus target price of $111.50, indicating a positive outlook for the company's stock performance.
• Ryanair announced a dividend increase to $0.534 per share, set to be paid on September 25th, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend of $0.47 and a healthy dividend yield of 120.0%.

AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in shares of Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Free Report) by 58.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,464 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 36,720 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Ryanair were worth $4,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Ryanair by 198.6% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 657 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ryanair by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 962 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ryanair during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Ryanair by 39.8% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Ryanair by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 43.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ryanair Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Ryanair stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, reaching $65.84. The company had a trading volume of 995,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,564,938. The company has a market cap of $34.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.36. The firm's fifty day moving average is $59.26 and its 200-day moving average is $51.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a fifty-two week low of $38.52 and a fifty-two week high of $66.25.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The transportation company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.25. Ryanair had a net margin of 14.42% and a return on equity of 27.91%. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.16 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Ryanair Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.534 dividend. This is a positive change from Ryanair's previous -- dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a yield of 120.0%. Ryanair's payout ratio is currently 14.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on RYAAY. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Oddo Bhf raised shares of Ryanair from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ryanair from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $111.50.

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.