Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on RCL. Citigroup upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $390.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $337.00 to $333.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $405.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $230.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $302.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $326.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.23. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50. The company has a market cap of $88.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $334.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.79.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.04 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 47.15% and a net margin of 20.97%.Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.21 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.410-15.550 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 5.550-5.650 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 25th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 25th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 10,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.04, for a total value of $3,399,412.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,407 shares in the company, valued at $5,414,966.28. The trade was a 38.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.47, for a total value of $1,715,550.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,578,432.22. This trade represents a 39.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,507 shares of company stock worth $10,091,282 over the last three months. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Optimum Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently 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.