Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Shares Gap Down to $112.43

Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $112.43, but opened at $109.40. Ryanair shares last traded at $108.47, with a volume of 164,728 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Ryanair to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Ryanair from $149.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ryanair to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ryanair to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.67.

Ryanair Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $23.80 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $107.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.40.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($1.20). Ryanair had a return on equity of 20.43% and a net margin of 12.07%. The company had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ryanair Holdings plc will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.692 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. Ryanair’s payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Ryanair by 90.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,294,414 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,239,503,000 after purchasing an additional 4,424,400 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Ryanair by 34.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,422,006 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,099,700,000 after acquiring an additional 3,734,770 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Ryanair by 826.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 621,773 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,399,000 after acquiring an additional 554,680 shares during the last quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of Ryanair by 93.0% during the 1st quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 1,083,124 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $157,692,000 after purchasing an additional 521,913 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI lifted its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 58.7% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 1,065,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $142,135,000 after purchasing an additional 394,300 shares during the last quarter. 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.