How to Buy easyJet Shares UK

easyJet Plc (EZJ) share price

Below you can see easyJet share price live, subject to stock exchange times and data update frequency.

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6 Simple Steps to Buying easyJet Shares (EZJ)

Here is a simple and by no means comprehensive step-by-step guide to the potential process of buying easyJet shares.

1. Pick the right trading platform

Before you decide if investing in easyJet is the right choice for you, you’ll need to hand-pick the best trading platform for your needs. I’ve put together a guide to the top 14 UK-licensed trading platforms in terms of all-round capabilities, which means most of the legwork is done for you.

If you plan to simply speculate on the price of assets like easyJet without physically owning them, a contract for difference (CFD) broker will be of interest to you. I’ve meticulously researched the best CFD trading platforms for UK-based users too.

It’s best not to dive in and pick the first retail investor accounts that catch your eye. You should weigh up the following aspects when selecting the right online broker:

Account fees

Ideally, find a trading platform that doesn’t charge ongoing fees to open and manage your account. Keep a close eye on inactivity fees too.

Commission

Ensure the fee structure is aligned to your style of trading. Many platforms offer commission-free trading which is ideal if you plan to buy and sell shares frequently. However, make sure you check the platform is offering competitive spreads as fees can often be hidden in the spread.

Available instruments

Does your chosen trading platform allow you to both buy shares of and sell the types of assets you’re interested in? In this instance, be sure that easyJet shares are available via the platform before you register your account.

Analysis and tools

Look for trading platforms that offer plenty of tools to help your fundamental and technical analysis of assets like easyJet.

Deposits and withdrawals

Make sure your chosen trading platform supports your preferred deposit and withdrawal methods and be aware of any charges or currency conversion fees that may arise when depositing and withdrawing.

2. Select the right account for you

It’s a good idea to consider how long you plan on investing in easyJet shares. If you plan to buy and sell the stock frequently to take advantage of price volatility in the markets, a share dealing account may be the most suitable option.

When selecting from the best share dealing accounts, ensure you pick a broker that offers the most competitive platform and trading fees, as well as overseas dealing fees that are incurred when you buy and sell equities listed on stock exchanges outside of the UK.

If you don’t want any limitations when it comes to the amount you invest in easyJet shares, a General Investment Account (GIA) could be a credible solution. Just bear in mind that you may incur capital gains tax on profits over a set amount.

For those who’d rather avoid paying capital gains tax, income tax, or dividend tax on returns from easyJet investments, consider one of two ‘tax wrapper’ accounts – Stocks and Shares ISAs and self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs).

With Stocks and Shares ISAs, you’ll receive a £20,000 allowance to invest in every tax year. With a SIPP, the UK government tops up the amount you invest by a further 20%.

3. Pick a preferred deposit method

It’s also important that your chosen trading or investing account for buying into easyJet stock supports your preferred deposit methods. The most commonly accepted deposit methods are bank transfer and debit cards.

Very few operators now accept deposits in credit cards and I welcome this in the main. Using credit for investing in or trading stocks like easyJet is an incredibly high-risk move.

The most agile trading platforms and brokerages may also embrace the use of mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.

4. Discover how to locate easyJet shares within your trading platform

The easiest way to locate the stock you wish to buy or sell – in this case, easyJet – is to use the company’s ticker or Exchange Price Information Code (EPIC). In the UK, EPICs are also known as TIDM codes. easyJet’s TIDM code is EZJ.

Just enter EZJ into the search bar of your chosen trading platform and it should display the page relating to the current easyJet share price. From here, you can set your desired order ready to submit into the market.

5. Conduct your own research into easyJet and the easyJet share price

Whichever type of trading account you use to buy and sell easyJet shares, my number-one rule of thumb is that you must always do your own research before parting with your hard-earned money.

Although the rise of copy trading services cannot be ignored, giving you a chance to follow profitable traders and investors, it’s vital that you understand the upside and downside potential for each investment you make. Following traders and investors blindly means you have no concept of how well or badly an acquisition could go.

The best online investing and trading brokerages will have their own educational sections, giving clients access to fundamental analysis such as the latest news, press releases and trading updates, as well as technical analysis underpinned by the most popular trading indicators and charts.

Additionally, we have a share analysis with easyJet tips, where we jump into detail about the company’s performance and share price.

6. Place your market orders for easyJet shares

Once you’ve finished your market research and determined the best price to buy easyJet shares, you can use your trading platform to set the size of your investment and enter the market order at the touch of a button.

Remember, most trading platforms also help you to manage your risk by defining stop-loss and take-profit orders. Both of these are essential for setting risk-reward ratios for every investment you make. This defines how much you are prepared to lose on an open position with easyJet before cutting your losses.

How much does it cost to buy easyJet shares?

The easyJet share price is up over 49% in the year to date, erasing much of the losses incurred during a turbulent 2022 for easyJet and the UK airline industry as a whole.[1]

Looking at future results and the medium-term performance of the easyJet share price, it’s clear to see the last five years have been anything but smooth for the carrier.

Having peaked at 1,507.45 (GBX) in June 2018, the price fell sharply following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, which effectively shut down the global travel industry and affected airports and even regional travel.

Had you taken the plunge, investing in easyJet shares at the start of the pandemic, when their value fell to just 399.91 (GBX) in April 2020, you could have more than doubled your investment by the time air travel began to reopen. The stock and share prices had recovered to a peak of 921.89 (GBX) by May 2021.

However, since then, the stock has been on another downward spiral. The rapidly escalating cost-of-living crisis, fuelled largely by rising prices for energy and commodities, has hit households hard and threatened to dampen down appetite to travel.

That threat has not yet come to fruition, with passenger capacity set to return to pre-pandemic levels by the turn of the third quarter in 2023. Net debt is also waning on easyJet’s balance sheet, sitting at just £200m.

A largely new and fuel-efficient fleet means the carrier is unlikely to need to invest or borrow millions for its planes in the coming years.

The potential headwinds that could slow down a recovery for the easyJet share price include the cost of jet fuel, which is now much lower than the price the airline hedged at for around 70% of its fuel for FY23. If inflation remains stubborn, this too could anchor the easyJet stock for longer still.

Does easyJet pay dividends?

A quick glance at the history books suggests the airline has been paying dividends to easyJet shareholders since 2012. In 2012, it forked out 12.52% to shareholders as a ‘thank you’ for its immense revenue growth.

Since then, its highest dividend yield came in 2017, when shareholders received 5.52%. Dividends were omitted during the difficulties of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the prospective yield for 2023 is set to be just 1.7%, well below the FTSE 100 average.

There is brighter news for those thinking of buying easyJet shares in the UK purely for dividend returns. Overall shareholder payouts in 2024 and 2025 are forecast to be 12.4p and 19.1p per share, respectively. This equates to a total dividend yield of 2.4% for 2024 and an improved 3.7% in 2025.

These estimates are also on the conservative side, given that projected earnings over this same period alone would cover these yields three times over.

What’s the best way to buy or invest in easyJet shares?

All of the various ways you can gain exposure on easyJet depend on your unique financial position.

For example, if you’re someone with limited funds to invest, you may look to purchase fractional shares in easyJet. There are some online brokers and trading platforms that permit clients to buy percentages of one unit in high-value equities like easyJet.

UK-based users should look to Freetrade, Interactive Brokers and even eToro for access to fractional shares. This is a good option if you want to limit your exposure in the face of potential market volatility.

You could also diversify your risk by investing in funds that include easyJet as part of your portfolio. The FTSE 250 index from the London Stock Exchange contains easyJet at present. Meanwhile, there are plenty of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that also incorporate easyJet, such as the iShares Core MSCI EAFE and the Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund.

Finally, you could also get involved in the derivatives market, speculating on the share price of easyJet without physically owning them yourself.

CFDs and spread bets for easyJet mimic the underlying value of the airline’s stock. Just remember that all forms of derivatives trading come with the immense risk that you’ll lose money, either through poor execution or inexperience.

While CFDs and spread bets can magnify profits when positions move in your favour, they are just as likely to magnify losses if they move against you. I always advocate the need for risk management when using these complex financial instruments.

Is easyJet listed on UK markets?

Yes, easyJet shares are publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company was first floated on the London Stock Exchange back in November 2000. In its formative years on the stock market, easyJet shares attracted significant attention.

FL Group, which is the parent company for Icelandair and Sterling Airlines, acquired an 8.4% shareholding in the carrier. By 2005, this stake had risen to almost 17%.

At one point, the aviation industry expected a full-blown buyout bid from FL Group, but in April 2006 the company opted to sell its stake for a reported return on investment worth over £120 million.

Seven years later, the soaring market capitalisation of easyJet saw the airline’s stock promoted to the FTSE 100 index, the cluster of the UK’s 100 most valuable publicly listed companies. As of 2015, easyJet had expanded to offer flights to over 130 destinations and 31 countries – only three less than they do today.

The unavoidable chaos surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing travel restrictions and cancelled flights hit the airline industry hard. After yo-yo-ing between the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices, easyJet shares were demoted again to the latter in June 2020 at the height of the UK’s nationwide lockdown.

Inevitable job cuts and moves to optimise the size of its fleet all resulted in the company’s market cap plunging and it has remained a FTSE 250 constituent ever since.

How to buy easyJet shares FAQs