Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $243.25.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $257.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $213.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $227.00 on Thursday. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a fifty-two week low of $113.10 and a fifty-two week high of $258.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $234.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.39. The company has a market capitalization of $61.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 2.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.19.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 52.92% and a net margin of 16.21%. The company had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.85 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 11.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total value of $763,922.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,243,287.76. This trade represents a 12.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 139,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.89, for a total transaction of $33,150,685.17. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,167,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,321,868,240.23. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 404,332 shares of company stock worth $94,299,521. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.8% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 983.8% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 245.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,846,000 after acquiring an additional 8,236 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 40.5% during the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.