Benjamin Edwards Inc. Takes Position in Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. has established a new position in Ryanair Holdings PLC by acquiring 5,617 shares valued at around $238,000 in the first quarter.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded their ratings on Ryanair stock recently, with 6 analysts rating it as a "buy" and 3 as a "strong buy," contributing to an average price target of $111.50.
• Ryanair has announced an increase in its dividend to $0.534 per share, to be paid on September 25th, reflecting a yield boost from its previous dividend of $0.47.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,617 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Ryanair by 117.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 24,283 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 13,108 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Ryanair by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 152,194 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 3,930 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ryanair during the fourth quarter worth approximately $18,445,000. Mariner LLC increased its stake in shares of Ryanair by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,856 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,247 shares during the period. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ryanair during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,174,000. 43.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ryanair from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Oddo Bhf upgraded Ryanair from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $111.50.

Ryanair Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RYAAY traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $66.08. 1,362,126 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,558,259. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a twelve month low of $38.52 and a twelve month high of $67.18. The company has a market cap of $35.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.04.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.16 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 27.91% and a net margin of 14.42%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.534 per share. This represents a yield of 120.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This is a boost from Ryanair's previous -- dividend of $0.47. Ryanair's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.47%.

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.