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

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $232.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 2.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a one year low of $113.10 and a one year high of $258.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $230.87 and a 200 day moving average of $187.82.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.20 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 11.65 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 22.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Macquarie lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $189.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $180.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 139,353 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,167,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,321,868,240.23. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,243,287.76. This trade represents a 12.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 404,332 shares of company stock valued at $94,299,521 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 257.4% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 50.3% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

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.