Great Lakes Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC significantly increased its holdings in Ryanair Holdings PLC by 568.3%, acquiring over 241,700 additional shares, bringing its total to approximately 284,230 shares worth about $12 million.
• Ryanair recently reported earnings of $1.74 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, coupled with a 14.42% net margin and $5.07 billion in revenue for the quarter.
• The airline has announced a special dividend of $0.534, which represents a yield of 120% and is an increase from the previous dividend of $0.47.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Free Report) by 568.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 284,230 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 241,700 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.05% of Ryanair worth $12,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ryanair in the 1st quarter worth approximately $994,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Ryanair by 658.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 992,245 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $42,041,000 after purchasing an additional 861,361 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its position in Ryanair by 138.0% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 27,329 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 15,845 shares in the last quarter. Teewinot Capital Advisers L.L.C. boosted its position in Ryanair by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Teewinot Capital Advisers L.L.C. now owns 660,077 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $27,967,000 after purchasing an additional 106,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scientech Research LLC boosted its position in Ryanair by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 25,615 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 6,187 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.66% of the company's stock.

Ryanair Price Performance

RYAAY stock traded down $1.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $58.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,049,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 906,496. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $62.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market cap of $31.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.37. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a 52-week low of $38.52 and a 52-week high of $67.18.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.16 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 27.91% and a net margin of 14.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, September 12th. This is an increase from Ryanair's previous special dividend of $0.47. Ryanair's payout ratio is 23.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on RYAAY. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ryanair from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Ryanair from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Oddo Bhf upgraded Ryanair from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Ryanair 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.