Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 529,836 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 594,978 shares.The stock last traded at $43.03 and had previously closed at $42.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RYAAY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised Ryanair from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised Ryanair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Ryanair from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.00.

Ryanair Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.44. The stock has a market cap of $23.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.50.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The transportation company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by ($0.09). The company 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 last year, the business earned $2.88 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ryanair Holdings plc will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 4.1% during the second quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 3,796 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new position in Ryanair during the 2nd quarter valued at $265,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 2.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,453,075 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,100,716,000 after acquiring an additional 183,584 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Ryanair by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 31,686 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,690,000 after purchasing an additional 4,642 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Ryanair during the second quarter valued at $10,817,000. 43.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ryanair Company Profile

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.