Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 14,920 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 50% compared to the average volume of 9,917 put options.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $262.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $300.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.87. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12-month low of $164.01 and a 12-month high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The company had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders 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 2.3%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,311,186,488.54. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total transaction of $29,710,297.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 218,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,513,217.82. The trade was a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 in the last three months. Insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.2% in the 4th 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 raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 1,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on RCL shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. Bank of America raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $353.30.

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.