Royal Caribbean Cruises’ (RCL) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Loop Capital

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Loop Capital in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $290.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $250.00. Loop Capital’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 5.53% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group set a $311.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $249.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, April 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $279.00 target price for the company. Finally, Macquarie reduced their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $300.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.90.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCL traded up $3.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $274.82. The stock had a trading volume of 913,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,268,561. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1 year low of $130.08 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $222.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.76. The company has a market capitalization of $74.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.14.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.10, for a total transaction of $4,960,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 165,421 shares in the company, valued at $41,868,055.10. The trade was a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,712,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,854,905,000 after buying an additional 278,860 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,674,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,890,943,000 after purchasing an additional 602,447 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,373,856,000 after buying an additional 353,893 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at $707,833,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,991,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,487,000 after acquiring an additional 535,043 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.