Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $311.05.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $230.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 28th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 target price (up from $318.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $235.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL stock opened at $352.53 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $294.04 and a 200-day moving average of $250.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12 month low of $130.08 and a 12 month high of $355.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.17.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 19.38% and a return on equity of 47.89%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.77 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 24.92%.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.10, for a total value of $4,960,760.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 165,421 shares of the company’s stock, 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 link. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 39.8% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 145,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,645,000 after purchasing an additional 20,133 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893 shares during the period. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 43,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,079,000 after purchasing an additional 2,608 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.