The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $33.74 Million Stake in Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Ryanair Holdings PLC by 6.9%, owning 796,398 shares valued at approximately $33.74 million.
• Ryanair announced a special dividend of $0.534 per share, yielding 120.0%, to be paid on September 25th, a rise from its previous dividend of $0.47.
• The company's quarterly earnings report showed $1.74 earnings per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.49, alongside a revenue of $5.07 billion, significantly higher than the estimate of $4.16 billion.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 796,398 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 51,278 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.15% of Ryanair worth $33,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in Ryanair by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 10,006 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Ryanair by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 85,781 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,635,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Ryanair by 13.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Ryanair by 39.8% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on RYAAY shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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 and six have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Ryanair Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ RYAAY traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $60.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 612,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,511,180. 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 stock has a market cap of $32.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.37. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $61.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.57. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a one year low of $38.52 and a one year 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 (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $4.16 billion. Ryanair had a net margin of 14.42% and a return on equity of 27.91%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.534 per share. This is a positive change from Ryanair's previous special dividend of $0.47. This represents a dividend yield of 120.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Ryanair's payout ratio is 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.