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

Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $77.6667.

RYAAY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Zacks Research downgraded Ryanair from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore upgraded Ryanair from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Monday, June 8th.

Ryanair Stock Performance

RYAAY opened at $60.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $31.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $58.45 and a 200-day moving average of $63.88. Ryanair has a 52-week low of $53.14 and a 52-week high of $74.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The transportation company reported ($0.86) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.95) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 25.58% and a net margin of 13.95%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ryanair will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Dara Brady sold 8,973 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $233,387.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 17,550 shares in the company, valued at $456,475.50. This represents a 33.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Jason Paul Mcguinness sold 9,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.56, for a total value of $275,572.44. Following the sale, the insider owned 14,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $394,245.80. The trade was a 41.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 111,607 shares of company stock worth $2,918,397 over the last 90 days.

Institutional Trading of Ryanair

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Ryanair by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 584 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Ryanair by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 653 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.66% of the company’s stock.

Ryanair Company Profile

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.