Ryanair Holdings RYAAY staff across various parts of Europe have been on strike lately as they demand improved pay and better working conditions. To this end, per a Reuters report, Ryanair’s Spain-based cabin crew announced its plans to strike for 12 days this month. The dates are Jul 12-15, 18-21 and 25-28 across 10 Spanish airports. This latest announcement came on the final day of the crew’s current strike, leading to the cancellation of 10 flights in Spain on Jul 2.

A Spain-based cabin crew at easyJet are striking for nine days this month for higher pay. easyJet canceled five flights from Spain on Jul 2. Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport workers were on strike on Jul 1 and Jul 2, leading to the cancellation of almost 10% of flights.

Meanwhile, a popular holiday destination in Portugal (despite facing no ongoing strikes) is expected to suffer from 65 flight cancellations to and from Lisbon on Jul 2, backed by a combined impact of flight disruptions at multiple European airports.

So far, despite facing strikes in recent days by cabin crew unions in Belgium, Spain, Portugal, France and Italy, Ryanair claims to have witnessed minimal impact on its operations over the Jun 24-26 weekend.

RYAAY continues to hope that impending strikes may not affect its operations. However, Air Traffic Control strikes and airport staff shortages across Europe are some factors that can cause minor travel chaos.

Such flight disruptions due to staff shortage during the peak summer travel period seem to be a hindrance for this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) European carrier. Notably, shares of RYAAY have lost 32.9% year to date compared with 23.1% loss of the industry it belongs to.

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The negativity surrounding the stock is evident from the Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings being revised 11.6% downward over the past 90 days.

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Transportation sector are Kirby KEX, C.H. Robinson Worldwide CHRW and Diana Shipping Inc. DSX, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see  the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Kirby has an expected earnings growth rate of 278.57% for the current year. KEX delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 7.7%, on average.

Kirby has a long-term earnings growth rate of 12%. Shares of KEX have gained 2.3% so far this year.

C.H. Robinson has an expected earnings growth rate of 15.9% for the current year. CHRW delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 17.1%, on average.

C.H. Robinson has a long-term earnings growth rate of 9%. Shares of CHRW have gained 8.8% over the past year.

Diana has an expected earnings growth rate of 265.1% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate of Diana’s current-year earnings has improved 5.4% over the past 90 days.

Shares of DSX have gained 18% so far this year.

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Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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