Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $73.97.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RYAAY. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ryanair from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ryanair from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th.

Ryanair Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RYAAY opened at $55.30 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $28.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 1.16. Ryanair has a 12-month low of $51.68 and a 12-month high of $74.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.90.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The transportation company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.18). Ryanair had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 21.23%. The business had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Research analysts forecast that Ryanair will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.4434 dividend. Ryanair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Investment Advisors MI increased its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 4.9% during the first quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 3,965 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Ryanair by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 18,145 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Ryanair by 5.6% during the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,788 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Ryanair by 48.1% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 665 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Ryanair by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,398 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.65% of the company’s stock.

Ryanair Company Profile

Ryanair Holdings plc is an Irish airline group that operates low-cost, scheduled passenger services primarily across Europe. Through its operating airlines, including Ryanair, Ryanair UK, Malta Air, Buzz and Lauda, the group connects a broad network of destinations with a focus on affordable fares, high aircraft utilization and short-haul travel.

The company serves markets throughout the United Kingdom and continental Europe, as well as selected destinations in North Africa and the Middle East.