JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Stock Price

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) had its price target lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $371.00 to $376.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Truist Financial cut their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $318.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.52.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 3.1%

RCL opened at $280.94 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $304.17 and a 200-day moving average of $299.18.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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 repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 38.44%.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total value of $76,475,593.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,435,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,120,443,401.40. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total transaction of $453,144.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,203,935.82. The trade was a 9.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 in the last 90 days. 6.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.1% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 433,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,595,000 after buying an additional 43,184 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,806,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,066,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,728,810,000 after buying an additional 461,990 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 117,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,931,000 after acquiring an additional 38,698 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 39,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,659,000 after acquiring an additional 6,253 shares during the period. 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.