Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Sets New 12-Month High on Earnings Beat

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $269.96 and last traded at $264.71, with a volume of 8086822 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $236.82.

The company reported $1.63 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 22.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Macquarie raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $189.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,243,287.76. This trade represents a 12.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total value of $53,732,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,556,860 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,253,633.20. This trade represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 372,609 shares of company stock valued at $87,647,208 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. D1 Capital Partners L.P. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,570,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,502,000 after purchasing an additional 58,159 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 591,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,918,000 after acquiring an additional 13,520 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 569,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,468,000 after acquiring an additional 18,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 10,599.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 409,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,696,000 after acquiring an additional 406,048 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 11.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $237.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $199.52. The firm has a market cap of $71.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 2.59.

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.