Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Shares Down 5.1% – Time to Sell?

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)’s stock price dropped 5.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $277.51 and last traded at $276.9620. Approximately 644,744 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 1,902,998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $291.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RCL. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $342.00 to $324.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $333.00 to $321.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $316.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.27.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 4.9%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $273.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $307.64. The stock has a market cap of $75.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $5.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.68 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.16 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 44.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.20 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.580-15.630 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.740-2.790 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 26.90%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,100 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.76, for a total value of $309,936.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,010,571.84. The trade was a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL), operating as part of the Royal Caribbean Group, is a global cruise company that develops, markets and operates passenger cruise ships. The company operates multiple consumer-facing cruise brands that offer short- and long-duration itineraries and a range of onboard experiences. Its core activities include itineraries and voyage operations, guest services and hospitality, onboard food and beverage, entertainment and recreation programming, and the commercial activities needed to sell and support cruises through both direct and travel‑agent channels.

Royal Caribbean’s ships serve a broad set of geographies worldwide, regularly deploying vessels in the Caribbean, North America (including Alaska), Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.