Ryanair (RYAAY) September Traffic Increases From 2022 Levels
Ryanair Holdings RYAAY reported solid traffic numbers for September, driven by upbeat air-travel demand. The number of passengers ferried on RYAAY flights in September was 17.4 million, implying that 9% more passengers flew than a year ago.
Although RYAAY’s traffic has shown year-over-year growth, it has declined sequentially, mainly due to air traffic control strikes. The September figure compares unfavorably with the August 2023 figure of 18.9 million and the July figure of 18.7 million. The figure came in line with the June 2023 figure of 17.4 million.
The load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) was high at 94% in September 2023. The reading was similar in the year-ago period. RYAAY operated more than 97,350 flights in September 2023.
Owing to buoyant air travel demand, shares of Ryanair have gained 29.2% so far this year compared with 0.6% growth of the Zacks Airline industry.
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Ryanair expects its traffic for fiscal 2024 to be 183.5 million. In spite of upbeat passenger volumes, RYAAY continues to be hurt due to headwinds like air traffic control strikes and further probable Boeing delivery delays.
Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider
Currently, Ryanair carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks from the Zacks Transportation sector are GATX Corporation (GATX), Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, operating as Wabtec Corporation (WAB) and SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW). Each of these companies presently carries a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
GATX has an expected earnings growth rate of 14.33% for the current year. GATX delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 17.30%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GATX’s current-year earnings has improved 2.1% over the past 90 days. Shares of GATX have gained 1.3% year to date.
Wabtec has an expected earnings growth rate of 16.87% for the current year. WAB delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 3.42%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WAB’s current-year earnings has improved 4.9% over the past 90 days. Shares of WAB have gained 5.5% year to date.
SkyWest's fleet-modernization efforts are commendable.A fall in operating expenses is a tailwind for SkyWest. In second-quarter 2023, the metric dipped 2.4% to $693.8 million due to a decline in operating costs. Low operating expenses boost bottom-line results. Shares of SKYW have surged 149.8% year to date.
SKYW delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 31.51%, on average.
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Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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