Royal Caribbean Cruises Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:RCL)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 53,141 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 721% compared to the average volume of 6,476 call options.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.76, for a total transaction of $309,936.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,010,571.84. This trade represents a 7.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 32,949,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,662,989,000 after acquiring an additional 308,330 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,066,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,728,810,000 after purchasing an additional 461,990 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,576,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,433,052,000 after purchasing an additional 84,202 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,667,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,877,000 after purchasing an additional 415,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,317,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,997,000 after purchasing an additional 284,037 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $294.65 on Thursday. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1 year low of $164.01 and a 1 year high of $366.50. The company has a market cap of $80.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $275.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $305.78.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $5.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.16 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 44.68% and a net margin of 23.33%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.20 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.580-15.630 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.740-2.790 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on RCL. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $286.00 to $275.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.82.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL), operating as part of the Royal Caribbean Group, is a global cruise company that develops, markets and operates passenger cruise ships. The company operates multiple consumer-facing cruise brands that offer short- and long-duration itineraries and a range of onboard experiences. Its core activities include itineraries and voyage operations, guest services and hospitality, onboard food and beverage, entertainment and recreation programming, and the commercial activities needed to sell and support cruises through both direct and travel‑agent channels.

Royal Caribbean’s ships serve a broad set of geographies worldwide, regularly deploying vessels in the Caribbean, North America (including Alaska), Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.