Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Ryanair, with six buy ratings and four holds among 10 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $79.50, above the reported opening price of $58.51.
• Ryanair’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, with EPS of $1.19 versus the $1.37 consensus estimate and revenue of $5 billion versus forecasts of $5.06 billion. Shares were reported down 2.8%, trading below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company announced a $0.4434 special dividend payable September 28 to shareholders of record August 7, while institutional investors own 43.66% of the stock and insiders have sold shares totaling about $3.39 million over the past 90 days.

Shares of Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.50.

RYAAY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ryanair from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Ryanair from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st.

Ryanair Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of RYAAY stock opened at $58.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $30.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.15. Ryanair has a 1 year low of $53.14 and a 1 year high of $74.24.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The transportation company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.18). Ryanair had a return on equity of 21.23% and a net margin of 12.14%.The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Analysts forecast that Ryanair will post 3.95 EPS for the current year.

Ryanair Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.4434 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Ryanair's payout ratio is presently 17.07%.

Insider Activity at Ryanair

In related news, insider John Jh Hurley sold 15,000 shares of Ryanair stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.24, for a total value of $468,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 76,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,375,021. This trade represents a 16.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Carol Marie Sharkey sold 6,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $182,043.99. Following the transaction, the insider owned 14,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $367,677.36. This represents a 33.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 126,607 shares of company stock worth $3,386,997 in the last 90 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ryanair

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RYAAY. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ryanair by 658.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 992,245 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $42,041,000 after buying an additional 861,361 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Ryanair by 122.1% in the second 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 last quarter. CW Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ryanair in the second quarter valued at about $263,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ryanair by 99.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ryanair during the second quarter worth about $295,000. Institutional investors own 43.66% of the company's stock.

Ryanair Company 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.

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