Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is cautious but positive: Ryanair has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from 12 analysts, with an average 1-year price target of about $78.33.
• Recent earnings were mixed: The company beat EPS expectations for the quarter, reporting ($0.86) versus the expected ($0.95), but revenue of $2.70 billion came in below estimates.
• Insiders and institutions remain active: Several institutional investors increased stakes in Ryanair, while insiders sold shares in recent months, including CEO transactions tied to tax withholding from equity awards.

Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $78.3333.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on RYAAY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $79.00 target price on Ryanair in a report on Monday. Zacks Research lowered Ryanair from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Ryanair from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Evercore raised Ryanair from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Monday, June 22nd.

Ryanair Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:RYAAY opened at $66.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.50. Ryanair has a twelve month low of $53.14 and a twelve month high of $74.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $34.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.15.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The transportation company reported ($0.86) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.95) by $0.09. Ryanair had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 25.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Ryanair will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ryanair

In other Ryanair news, CEO Eddie Joseph Wilson sold 21,080 shares of Ryanair stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total value of $548,290.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,447,001.26. The trade was a 13.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Andreas Gruber sold 13,467 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $350,276.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 20,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $542,516.58. The trade was a 39.23% 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 sold a total of 126,607 shares of company stock worth $3,386,997 in the last three months.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ryanair

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of RYAAY. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Ryanair by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 39,929,929 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,884,834,000 after buying an additional 2,464,742 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Ryanair by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 31,051,257 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,241,612,000 after acquiring an additional 312,323 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Ryanair by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,304,889 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $527,341,000 after acquiring an additional 985,939 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 3.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,752,264 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $332,480,000 after acquiring an additional 185,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metropolis Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 10.8% in the first quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 3,949,246 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $228,266,000 after acquiring an additional 385,444 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.66% of the company's stock.

About Ryanair

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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