Henry Pujol Sells 4,442 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) CAO Henry Pujol sold 4,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.99, for a total value of $1,456,931.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,301,875.33. This represents a 30.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $319.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $164.01 and a 52 week high of $366.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $296.69 and a 200-day moving average of $303.15.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 2025 results showed solid demand and margin recovery — revenue and EPS rose ~13% and ~36% year‑over‑year, operating profit jumped ~49%, and operating cash generation improved. These fundamentals support analyst bullishness and longer‑term earnings upgrades. RCL Q4 2025 Earnings (QuiverQuant)
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains constructive: broker consensus is around a “Moderate Buy” and many firms maintain buy/overweight ratings with price targets well above current levels — a tailwind for the stock if sentiment persists. Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy (AmericanBankingNews)
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research nudged near‑term EPS estimates slightly higher for Q1 and Q2, signaling some upward revision to the company’s short‑term earnings outlook. (These are modest changes but supportive.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks also published longer‑range projections (FY2027/FY2028) that are mixed — a small cut to FY2027 was offset by higher FY2028 expectations — leaving medium‑term consensus roughly intact.
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Caribbean priced $2.5 billion of senior unsecured notes ($1.25B due 2033 at 4.75% and $1.25B due 2038 at 5.25%). The deal increases debt and fixed interest obligations, which can pressure the stock, especially given already elevated capex and leverage metrics. Pricing of Senior Unsecured Notes (PR Newswire) Royal Caribbean Issues $2.5 Billion in Senior Notes (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: High near‑term capital spending: management’s reported capex jumped materially in Q4, and Quiver data shows insider sales in recent months — both factors can worry investors about future free cash flow and signal reduced insider conviction. Capex & Insider Activity (QuiverQuant)

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 433,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,595,000 after purchasing an additional 43,184 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth about $4,806,000. Marion Wealth Management bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth about $291,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.4% in the second quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 180,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,539,000 after acquiring an additional 12,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 253.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 556,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,241,000 after acquiring an additional 398,849 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho set a $379.00 price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.29.

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.