Ascent Group LLC Acquires New Holdings in Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ryanair Holdings PLC, purchasing 5,116 shares valued at approximately $295,000 during the second quarter.
• Ryanair recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.74, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.49, alongside a revenue of $5.07 billion.
• The company announced an increase in its special dividend to $0.534 per share, up from the previous $0.47, reflecting a payout ratio of 16.90%.

Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,116 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ryanair during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Ryanair during the second quarter worth $53,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Ryanair by 100.0% during the first 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. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Ryanair by 1,158.0% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ryanair in the 2nd quarter valued at $66,000. 43.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ryanair Stock Performance

Shares of RYAAY opened at $60.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.23, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.38. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a 1 year low of $38.52 and a 1 year high of $67.18. 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 (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The transportation company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.25. Ryanair had a net margin of 14.42% and a return on equity of 27.91%. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.16 billion. On average, analysts predict that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.534 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. This is an increase from Ryanair's previous special dividend of $0.47. Ryanair's payout ratio is presently 16.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RYAAY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Ryanair in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Ryanair from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ryanair from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Oddo Bhf upgraded shares of Ryanair from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

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.

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