Eagle Global Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY)

Key Points

• Eagle Global Advisors LLC has increased its stake in Ryanair Holdings PLC by 172.0%, owning 68,000 shares worth approximately $2.88 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Ryanair recently declared a dividend of $0.534 per share, reflecting a positive change from its previous dividend of $0.47, with a payout ratio of 23.47%.
• The company reported quarterly earnings that surpassed expectations, with earnings per share of $1.74 on revenue of $5.07 billion, leading to several analysts upgrading their price targets for the stock.

Eagle Global Advisors LLC increased its position in Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Free Report) by 172.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 68,000 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 43,000 shares during the period. Eagle Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Ryanair were worth $2,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RYAAY. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Ryanair by 198.6% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 657 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased 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 buying an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Ryanair in the first quarter valued at $48,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Ryanair by 39.8% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Ryanair by 13.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ryanair from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Ryanair in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Oddo Bhf raised shares of Ryanair from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.50.

Ryanair Price Performance

Shares of Ryanair stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $65.84. 995,832 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,564,938. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a 1 year low of $38.52 and a 1 year high of $66.25. The company has a market capitalization of $34.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

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

Ryanair Increases Dividend

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