Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $151.00.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on RYAAY shares. Barclays upgraded shares of Ryanair from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ryanair from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ryanair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Ryanair Stock Performance

RYAAY stock opened at $42.75 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.00. Ryanair has a fifty-two week low of $36.96 and a fifty-two week high of $60.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.51.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The transportation company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.59 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 11.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ryanair will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Ryanair Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.4677 per share. This represents a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Ryanair’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ryanair

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Ryanair by 87.5% during the third quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 750 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Ryanair by 153.1% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 891 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ryanair by 261.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 893 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Ryanair by 148.6% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,186 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Ryanair during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.66% of the company’s stock.

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.