Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $279.89 and last traded at $276.84, with a volume of 216819 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $276.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $311.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Melius Research upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $295.00 to $275.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.90.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

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 company has a market cap of $74.72 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $224.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.99.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 24.92%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the company’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 directly owns 165,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,868,055.10. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,712,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,854,905,000 after buying an additional 278,860 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,674,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,890,943,000 after buying an additional 602,447 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $1,373,856,000 after buying an additional 353,893 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at about $707,833,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 21.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 535,043 shares during the period. 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.