23,471 Shares in Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY Bought by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC has acquired a new position in Ryanair Holdings PLC, purchasing 23,471 shares valued at approximately $994,000 during the first quarter.
• Ryanair recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.74, surpassing expectations and revealing revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced an increase in its special dividend to $0.534 per share, set to be paid in September, representing a yield of 120.0%.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 23,471 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $994,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Ryanair by 26.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,725 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,621 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ryanair by 1,190.3% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,832 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 5,380 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ryanair by 19.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 526,540 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $22,310,000 after purchasing an additional 87,532 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Ryanair by 2.6% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,094 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 43.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on RYAAY shares. Zacks Research upgraded Ryanair from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ryanair from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Ryanair in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Ryanair Stock Performance

Ryanair stock traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.81. 998,729 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 934,347. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $62.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.34. The firm has a market cap of $30.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.37. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a twelve month low of $38.52 and a twelve month high of $67.18.

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

Ryanair Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.534 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This is a boost from Ryanair's previous special dividend of $0.47. Ryanair's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.90%.

About Ryanair

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.