Jason Liberty Sells 90,910 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) CEO Jason Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total value of $29,710,297.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. This trade represents a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL stock opened at $319.26 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $164.01 and a one year high of $366.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $296.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $303.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $86.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises News Roundup

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)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $318.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, December 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,172,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.