Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Short Interest Up 47.0% in January

Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) saw a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,973,398 shares, a growth of 47.0% from the January 15th total of 1,342,515 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,657,875 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,657,875 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Ryanair Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ RYAAY opened at $65.49 on Tuesday. Ryanair has a 12-month low of $38.52 and a 12-month high of $74.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market cap of $34.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Ryanair Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.4545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. Ryanair’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ryanair

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RYAAY. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Ryanair in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Ryanair by 280.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 472 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ryanair by 76.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 484 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Ryanair by 1,057.4% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 544 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. 43.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $73.50.

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.