Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $210.00 to $213.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Royal Caribbean Cruises traded as high as $173.40 and last traded at $171.54, with a volume of 273544 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $167.96.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $168.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $140.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Macquarie lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $165.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Naftali Holtz bought 5,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $140.00 per share, for a total transaction of $749,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 48,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,755,840. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 3,073 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.71, for a total transaction of $518,445.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,620,629.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz bought 5,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $140.00 per share, with a total value of $749,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,755,840. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 37.4% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 102,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,197,000 after buying an additional 27,819 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Financial Group purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 166,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,577,000 after purchasing an additional 17,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,156,000 after purchasing an additional 5,655 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $159.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 2.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.05 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 52.49% and a net margin of 16.32%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 11.65 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 20th.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.