Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Short Interest Update

Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,491,428 shares, a drop of 24.4% from the January 29th total of 1,973,398 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,382,966 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,382,966 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ryanair

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of RYAAY. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Ryanair by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 39,929,929 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,884,834,000 after buying an additional 2,464,742 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Ryanair by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 31,051,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,241,612,000 after acquiring an additional 312,323 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,304,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $527,341,000 after acquiring an additional 985,939 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Ryanair by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,567,154 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $401,892,000 after purchasing an additional 117,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,895,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $281,182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,666 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RYAAY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Ryanair from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.50.

Ryanair Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RYAAY traded up $1.39 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.38. 302,869 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,419,030. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.22. Ryanair has a 52 week low of $38.52 and a 52 week high of $74.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company’s 50 day moving average is $69.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.20.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The transportation company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 29.76% and a net margin of 15.04%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ryanair will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Ryanair Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a $0.4545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. Ryanair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.26%.

About Ryanair

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.