Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Raised to "Outperform" at Sanford C. Bernstein

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Ryanair to "Outperform", joining other brokers (Evercore, Morgan Stanley, RBC, Deutsche Bank) and leaving a MarketBeat average rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $75.67.
• Ryanair beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS $0.26 vs. $0.18 and revenue $3.77B vs. $3.16B, with a 15.04% net margin and 29.76% ROE; analysts expect about 3.09 EPS for the current year.
• Shares trade around $62.36 with a market cap of $32.6B, a P/E of 12.5 and a 52‑week range of $43.12–$74.24, indicating valuation room relative to consensus targets.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Sanford C. Bernstein from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report issued on Monday,Finviz reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on RYAAY. Evercore raised shares of Ryanair from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ryanair from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.67.

Ryanair Stock Performance

Shares of RYAAY stock opened at $62.36 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.16. Ryanair has a 52 week low of $43.12 and a 52 week high of $74.24.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The transportation company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Ryanair had a net margin of 15.04% and a return on equity of 29.76%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ryanair will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ryanair

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Ryanair in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ryanair by 280.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 472 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ryanair by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 484 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Ryanair by 1,057.4% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 544 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Ryanair by 2,929.4% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 515 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. 43.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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