Short Interest in Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Grows By 47.0%

Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,973,398 shares, an increase of 47.0% from the January 15th total of 1,342,515 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,657,875 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,657,875 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Ryanair Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of RYAAY traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $65.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,886,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,483,857. Ryanair has a 52-week low of $38.52 and a 52-week high of $74.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $70.11 and its 200-day moving average is $65.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The transportation company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 29.76% and a net margin of 15.04%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ryanair will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be given a dividend of $0.4545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Ryanair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on RYAAY shares. Wall Street Zen cut Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ryanair from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ryanair currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RYAAY. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Ryanair by 6.6% during the fourth 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 period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Ryanair by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 31,051,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,241,612,000 after acquiring an additional 312,323 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,237,385 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $233,707,000 after purchasing an additional 60,847 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 645,657.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,789,672 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $201,386,000 after acquiring an additional 2,789,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Ryanair by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,801,283 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $130,035,000 after acquiring an additional 228,865 shares in the last quarter. 43.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.