Andra AP fonden Boosts Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Andra AP fonden increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 74.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,514 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,177 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $4,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of RCL. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth about $1,021,893,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,604,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,270,252,000 after acquiring an additional 929,414 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 560.9% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 676,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,949,000 after acquiring an additional 574,256 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $172,488,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 91.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,087,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,590,000 after purchasing an additional 520,353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of RCL opened at $310.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.91. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $164.01 and a 1 year high of $366.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $304.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.29.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company expansion push — coverage highlights Royal Caribbean’s aggressive growth and fleet/itinerary expansion plans that back continued demand recovery and revenue upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Luxury brand development — Silversea unveiled public spaces for The Cormorant at 55 South, a new hotel supporting Antarctic fly‑cruise packages, strengthening the company’s premium/expedition revenue mix. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Completed $2.5B senior notes offering — RCL issued $1.25B of 4.75% notes due 2033 and $1.25B of 5.25% notes due 2038. The deal boosts liquidity and funds financing needs but increases long‑term debt and interest expense. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling — Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 771,607 shares across Feb 25–27 for roughly $243.6M in proceeds (three Form 4 filings). While the sales are a small percentage of his total holdings, the magnitude and timing can pressure sentiment and share price. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.29.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. This trade represents a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.