Three Irish investments to buy in search of profits may especially interest those who have an affinity for the Emerald Isle who are pursuing their own proverbial pot of gold.
More than 31.5 million Americans come from Irish ancestry, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Second only to claims of German ancestry, Irish Americans live all over the country. Whether one has Irish lineage or just wants to capitalize on one of the best-performing economies in the European Union, the three Irish investments to buy could leave one feeling like a lucky leprechaun.
The Irish economy is forecast to continue to rank among the strongest in the Eurozone countries partly because of its concentration in medical technology, technology and the large multinational enterprises operating on the Emerald Isle. The European Commission predicts that Ireland’s economy will grow by 1.2% in 2024 and 3.6% in 2025 due to improvement in global trade, a strong labor market and falling inflation. While many countries still face consequences caused by the pandemic, Ireland is recovering and could prove to hold some profitable investment opportunities.
Three Irish Investments to Buy in Search of Profits: Ryanair (RYAAY)
Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Ryanair Holdings plc (NasdaqGS: RYAAY), is one of the largest airline groups in Europe, based on passenger numbers.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, Ryanair was founded in 1984 by three Irish businessmen. The low-cost carrier announced its after-tax profit in the fiscal year ended March 2024 jumped 34% to reach a company record of €1.92 billion. Additionally, Revenues rose 25% year-on-year, making this a highly successful year, the Dublin-based company reported in a press release.
Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair, said he is wary of what might lie ahead for Europe’s economy this quarter.
It is surprising that pricing hasn’t been stronger so far this summer, O’Leary said. Whether the cause is consumer sentiment, recessionary concerns or a combination of factors, O’Leary said he hoped to see peak travel demand through July and August.
Site visitors grew in the last 12 months 9% to 184 million passengers, which is 20-23% greater than pre-COVID site visitors, O’Leary said. Additionally, O’Leary said the airline has opened five new bases and over 200 additional routes for summer 2024 to stimulate vital development throughout Europe.
Recently, Ryanair announced a €700 million share buyback. Referring to buybacks, Dr. Mark Skousen, editor of Forecasts & Strategies and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University in California, said companies that repurchase shares available on the open market reward investors by avoiding double taxation of dividends and increasing the value of the reduced number of shares outstanding.
Analysts give RYAAY a rating of STRONG BUY, according to Stock Rover.
Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com
Three Irish Investments to Buy in Search of Profits: ICON plc (ICLR)
ICON plc (NasdaqGS: ICLR) is one of the world’s biggest health care and clinical research organizations. Founded during 1990 in Dublin, Ireland, ICON plc provides services including drug development and clinical trials to a variety of firms. Most of its revenue comes from clinical research.
“Our team delivered strong financial results despite challenging macroeconomic conditions, resulting in full-year adjusted EBITDA growth of 15% and adjusted EPS growth of 9% over full year 2022,” said Dr. Steve Cutler, CEO of ICON plc. The organization showed resilience against unfortunate economic circumstances, making it stand out as a stock recommendation.
ICLR has an 11.8% year-to-date return rate. Stock Rover rates ICLR as a STRONG BUY.
Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com
Three Irish Investments to Buy in Search of Profits: iShares MSCI Ireland ETF (EIRL)
iShares MSCI Ireland ETF (EIRL) is an exchange traded fund (ETF) that provides exposure to a range of companies in Ireland, with the top 10 holdings making up 80% of the fund.
The rate of return for the ETF is 14.1% year-to-date, according to iShares data. Investing in this ETF offers exposure to companies headquartered in Ireland. The fund includes our top two Irish stock recommendations, RYAAY and ICLR, along with Kingspan Group PLC(KRX), Kerry Group PLC (KRZ) and more.
Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com
“With rising European markets, relatively stable political environment, and still-lesser interest rates, Europe ETFs may be a better bet than U.S. ETFs,” according to Zacks.
For those who are interested in diversifying their portfolios and expanding their investments to Europe through a fund, this ETF is the only option for exclusive exposure for investing in Ireland. This fund includes a total of 32 holdings.
What many investors aren’t noticing is that the current stock rally is worldwide, wrote Bob Carlson, a former pension fund chairman, in his May 23 weekly update for his Retirement Watch investment newsletter subscribers.
The MSCI All-Country World Index contains most of the investable stocks for markets in 47 countries. As of last week, 75% of the markets in the index (accounting for 93% of the index’s market capitalization) were above their 200-day moving averages, according to Ned Davis Research.
“U.S. stocks now are 63% of the index, but the pattern of the U.S. stock indexes over the last year has been shadowed closely by indexes comprising Europe, excluding the U.K., emerging markets and Asian markets, excluding Japan,” according to Carlson’s weekly update, called Bob’s Journal, which is provided to subscribers of his monthly Retirement Watch investment newsletter. “All those regional indexes recently hit new highs.”
Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com
See the returns by looking at charts of the ETFs iShares MSCI ACWI (ACWI) above and iShares MSCI ACWI ex-U.S. (ACWX) below.
Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com
“New highs and widespread rallies above 200-day moving averages typically are signs of strong markets,” Carlson informed his Retirement Watch subscribers. “These and other factors are what market technicians call confirmations and indicate most stock markets around the world should register additional gains.”
There are many reasons to look at these investments, such as the overall economic growth of the country, increase share prices in the market overall and even a chance to profit from the luck of the Irish. Those who appreciate Irish culture and humor can seek to benefit from investments in that part of the world, whether or not they have ancestors from the Emerald Isle.
