Ryanair’s higher earnings and its decision to bring back buybacks should drive upgrades to consensus estimates, Bernstein analysts Alex Irving and Tobias Fromme say in a research note. The Irish low-cost carrier had suspended the buybacks since the Covid-19 pandemic.”[Ryanair] is making good on its promise to return excess liquidity to shareholders, and to favor buybacks where the shares look undervalued,” they say. Ryanair’s net profit in the fourth quarter beat expectations by 4.2%, while passenger numbers rose 4.5%. However, the quarterly rise in passengers was below the 7% on-year growth recorded in 3Q, the analysts say. Shares are down 1% at EUR18.15.