Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Upgraded by Citigroup to Strong-Buy

Citigroup upgraded shares of Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on RYAAY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Ryanair from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. UBS Group lowered Ryanair from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Hsbc Global Res raised Ryanair to a hold rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Ryanair from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Ryanair from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $158.50.

Ryanair Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ RYAAY traded down $1.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.15. The stock had a trading volume of 918,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 643,959. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $114.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.34. Ryanair has a 52 week low of $87.18 and a 52 week high of $150.73.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The transportation company reported ($1.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.32) by $0.01. Ryanair had a return on equity of 20.43% and a net margin of 12.07%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. Analysts anticipate that Ryanair will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.692 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. Ryanair’s payout ratio is 10.20%.

Institutional Trading of Ryanair

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ryanair in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Ryanair by 44.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 242 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ryanair during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Ryanair by 256.0% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ryanair in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors 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.