Financial Survey: Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) vs. Deutsche Lufthansa (OTCMKTS:DLAKY)

Deutsche Lufthansa (OTCMKTS:DLAKY) and Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

43.6% of Ryanair shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Deutsche Lufthansa has a beta of 1.17, suggesting that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ryanair has a beta of 1.22, suggesting that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Deutsche Lufthansa and Ryanair, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Deutsche Lufthansa	5	1	0	1	1.57
Ryanair	1	4	6	1	2.58

Ryanair has a consensus price target of $73.97, suggesting a potential upside of 24.67%. Given Ryanair’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ryanair is more favorable than Deutsche Lufthansa.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Deutsche Lufthansa and Ryanair”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Deutsche Lufthansa	$44.79 billion	0.25	$1.51 billion	$1.19	7.78
Ryanair	$18.03 billion	1.70	$2.52 billion	$3.94	15.06

Ryanair has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Deutsche Lufthansa. Deutsche Lufthansa is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ryanair, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Deutsche Lufthansa and Ryanair’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Deutsche Lufthansa	2.72%	10.15%	2.46%
Ryanair	11.18%	18.56%	10.22%

Dividends

Deutsche Lufthansa pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ryanair pays an annual dividend of $1.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Deutsche Lufthansa pays out 21.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ryanair pays out 29.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Deutsche Lufthansa is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Ryanair beats Deutsche Lufthansa on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Deutsche Lufthansa

Deutsche Lufthansa AG operates as an aviation company worldwide. It operates in three segments: Passenger Airlines; Logistics; and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Services (MRO). The Passenger Airlines segment offers products and services to passengers of Lufthansa Airlines, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings. Its Logistics segment offers airfreight container management, urgent shipments, and customs clearance services; and e-commerce solutions. The MRO segment provides maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for civil commercial aircraft serving original equipment manufacturers, aircraft leasing companies, operators of VIP jets, government, armed forces, and airlines. The company also offers corporate payment and billing services; vocational and professional training for cockpit and cabin crew; and IT solutions. As of December 31, 2023, it had a fleet of 721 aircraft. Deutsche Lufthansa AG was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Cologne, Germany.

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. In addition, the company offers aircraft and passenger handling, ticketing, and maintenance and repair services; and markets car parking, fast-track, airport transfers, attractions, and activities on its website and mobile app, as well as sells gift vouchers. Ryanair Holdings plc was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Swords, Ireland.