Brave Warrior Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY

Key Points

• Brave Warrior Advisors LLC reduced its shareholding in Ryanair Holdings PLC by 2.3%, selling 127,369 shares, which now accounts for 5.3% of its total portfolio.
• Ryanair's recent earnings report revealed a profit of $1.74 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, and a total revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a special dividend of $0.534 per share, increasing from its previous dividend, with a payer date set for September 25th.

Brave Warrior Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,476,889 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 127,369 shares during the quarter. Ryanair comprises about 5.3% of Brave Warrior Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC owned about 1.03% of Ryanair worth $232,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ryanair by 26.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,725 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 1,621 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ryanair by 1,190.3% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,832 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 5,380 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ryanair by 19.9% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 526,540 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $22,310,000 after acquiring an additional 87,532 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ryanair by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 962 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Ryanair by 2.6% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,094 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on RYAAY shares. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Ryanair in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Oddo Bhf raised Ryanair from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Ryanair from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $76.00.

Ryanair Price Performance

Shares of Ryanair stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 611,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,511,180. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $61.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.57. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a 12-month low of $38.52 and a 12-month high of $67.18. The company has a market cap of $32.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.37. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The transportation company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.25. Ryanair had a return on equity of 27.91% and a net margin of 14.42%.The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.16 billion. Analysts expect that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.534 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This is a positive change from Ryanair's previous special dividend of $0.47. This represents a dividend yield of 120.0%. Ryanair's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.55%.

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.