Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at Barclays from $249.00 to $263.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 19.09% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $295.00 to $275.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Argus boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.55.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $220.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $209.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $227.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 52-week low of $130.08 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,021,265.74. The trade was a 28.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,530,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth $231,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,856,000 after acquiring an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,137,000 after acquiring an additional 7,740 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.