Analysts Set Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Target Price at $283.53

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $282.33.

A number of brokerages recently commented on RCL. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Loop Capital upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Macquarie lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $207.35 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1 year low of $125.06 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $238.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.72.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. Analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last three months. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 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.