Brokerages Set Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Price Target at $271.30

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $271.30.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on RCL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, April 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $279.00 price objective for the company. Melius Research raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL opened at $255.62 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1 year low of $130.08 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.92%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at $11,021,265.74. This trade represents a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,992 shares of company stock valued at $23,566,445. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 20,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,297,000 after buying an additional 6,063 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,643,000 after acquiring an additional 2,129 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Ascent Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter valued at approximately $406,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,146,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.