Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 41,401 call options on the company. This is an increase of 387% compared to the average daily volume of 8,501 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RCL. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $189.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $257.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 139,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.89, for a total transaction of $33,150,685.17. Following the transaction, the director now 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 25,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total value of $5,250,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 204,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,953,500.42. This trade represents a 10.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 404,332 shares of company stock valued at $94,299,521 in the last three months. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,048,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,616,000 after purchasing an additional 400,565 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,570,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,502,000 after buying an additional 58,159 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 725,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,699,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 591,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,918,000 after buying an additional 13,520 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.0% during the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 461,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,690,000 after buying an additional 17,601 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $232.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 2.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12 month low of $113.10 and a 12 month high of $258.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $230.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.82.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.85 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 11.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.61%.

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.