Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $184.13.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on RCL shares. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Susquehanna raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL stock opened at $177.36 on Tuesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 52-week low of $78.35 and a 52-week high of $184.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $161.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.65. The stock has a market cap of $45.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 2.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 11.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 20th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.0% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,291,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 38.9% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.9% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Kowal Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.0% during the first quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 2,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.