Capital Wealth Planning LLC Invests $12.55 Million in Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY

Key Points

• Capital Wealth Planning LLC bought a new Ryanair position in the fourth quarter, acquiring 173,073 shares worth about $12.55 million.
• Ryanair’s latest quarter showed an EPS beat of $0.09 versus expectations, though revenue came in below analysts’ estimates at $2.70 billion versus $3.08 billion projected.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $77.67, even as some insiders recently sold shares.

Capital Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 173,073 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $12,548,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ryanair by 658.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 992,245 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $42,041,000 after acquiring an additional 861,361 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Ryanair by 122.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,011 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 7,152 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ryanair during the 2nd quarter valued at about $263,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ryanair by 99.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ryanair during the 2nd quarter valued at about $295,000. 43.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ryanair Stock Performance

Shares of RYAAY opened at $55.75 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.15. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a 1 year low of $53.14 and a 1 year high of $74.24.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 19th. The transportation company reported ($0.86) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.95) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 25.58% and a net margin of 13.95%. On average, analysts predict that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Dara Brady sold 8,973 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $233,387.73. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 17,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,475.50. This trade represents a 33.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Jason Paul Mcguinness sold 12,562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total value of $326,737.62. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 24,304 shares in the company, valued at $632,147.04. This trade represents a 34.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 111,607 shares of company stock worth $2,918,397.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank cut Ryanair from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Ryanair in a report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Ryanair from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ryanair currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.67.

Ryanair Profile

Ryanair Holdings plc is an Irish low-cost airline group headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1984, the company grew into one of Europe's largest budget carriers by offering point-to-point scheduled passenger services with an emphasis on low fares, high aircraft utilization and rapid turnaround times. Ryanair serves a broad network across Europe and nearby regions, focusing on both intra-European leisure travel and short-haul business routes.

The group primarily operates a single-type fleet based on the Boeing 737 family, supplemented by a mix of in-house and subsidiary airlines that help serve different markets and regulatory environments.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.