Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 56,102 call options on the company. This is an increase of 390% compared to the typical volume of 11,440 call options.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 3,073 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.71, for a total transaction of $518,445.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,620,629.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 3,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.71, for a total value of $518,445.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,620,629.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $919,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,164.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 37.4% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 102,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,197,000 after buying an additional 27,819 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Financial Group purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $209,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 166,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,577,000 after acquiring an additional 17,815 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,156,000 after purchasing an additional 5,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at $765,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE RCL traded up $2.35 during trading on Thursday, reaching $170.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,336,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,483,808. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12-month low of $78.35 and a 12-month high of $173.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. The business’s 50-day moving average is $160.14 and its 200 day moving average is $148.72. The stock has a market cap of $43.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 2.61.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 16.32% and a return on equity of 52.49%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 11.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 20.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on RCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $168.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $168.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Macquarie raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $165.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.31.

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.