78,563 Shares in Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY Bought by Capital Fund Management S.A.

Key Points

• Capital Fund Management S.A. has made a new investment of approximately $3.33 million in Ryanair Holdings PLC, acquiring 78,563 shares during the first quarter.
• Ryanair recently announced a dividend of $0.534 per share, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.47, set to be paid on September 25th.
• Shares of Ryanair have been upgraded by multiple analysts, with some raising their ratings to "strong-buy," reflecting a current consensus rating of "Buy" and a target price of $111.50.

Capital Fund Management S.A. bought 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 and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 78,563 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $3,329,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Ryanair by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 29,324,514 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,242,480,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233,059 shares during the period. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ryanair by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 5,604,258 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $244,290,000 after acquiring an additional 500,239 shares during the period. Metropolis Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Ryanair by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 4,753,672 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $201,413,000 after acquiring an additional 160,542 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Ryanair by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,642,795 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $158,789,000 after acquiring an additional 179,006 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ryanair by 5.6% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,034,561 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $43,834,000 after purchasing an additional 54,439 shares during the period. 43.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on RYAAY. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Oddo Bhf upgraded Ryanair from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" 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. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ryanair from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.50.

Ryanair Price Performance

Ryanair stock traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $63.28. 531,495 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,528,701. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.87. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a 12 month low of $38.52 and a 12 month high of $67.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $33.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.36.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.25. The firm 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 expect that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 120.0%. This is a boost from Ryanair's previous special dividend of $0.47. Ryanair's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.47%.

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.