Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Ryanair Holdings PLC has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy", backed by eleven brokerages, with an average 1-year price target of $76.00.
• The company recently announced a special dividend of $0.534 per share, increasing from the prior special dividend of $0.47, reflecting strong financial performance.
• In the last quarter, Ryanair reported an EPS of $1.74, exceeding expectations and contributing to a market capitalization of $31.52 billion.

Shares of Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.00.

A number of research firms have commented on RYAAY. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Oddo Bhf upgraded shares of Ryanair from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Zacks Research downgraded Ryanair from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ryanair from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday.

Ryanair Price Performance

RYAAY stock opened at $59.50 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $61.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.32. Ryanair has a 52-week low of $38.52 and a 52-week high of $67.18. The company has a market capitalization of $31.52 billion, a PE ratio of 13.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.38. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.16 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 27.91% and a net margin of 14.42%. Analysts predict that Ryanair will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.534 per share. This is a boost from Ryanair's previous special dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. Ryanair's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of RYAAY. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Ryanair by 77.5% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 7,290 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 3,182 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Ryanair in the second quarter valued at approximately $149,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 9.4% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,210 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ryanair during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $566,000. 43.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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