William Blair Has Optimistic Outlook of RCL Q1 Earnings

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) – William Blair boosted their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair analyst S. Zackfia now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $2.55 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.41. The consensus estimate for Royal Caribbean Cruises’ current full-year earnings is $11.66 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Q2 2025 earnings at $3.85 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $5.83 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.76 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $14.99 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on RCL. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Macquarie raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.19.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $274.94 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.26, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 2.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $239.12 and a 200 day moving average of $200.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1-year low of $113.10 and a 1-year high of $275.05.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 52.92% and a net margin of 16.21%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 20.58%.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total transaction of $763,922.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,243,287.76. The trade was a 12.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total transaction of $53,732,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,556,860 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,253,633.20. This represents a 1.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 372,609 shares of company stock worth $87,647,208 over the last 90 days. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 257.4% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

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.