Retirement Systems of Alabama Reduces Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 13.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 166,936 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,198 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $54,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,021,893,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,604,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,270,252,000 after acquiring an additional 929,414 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at $172,488,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7,971.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 540,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,165,000 after acquiring an additional 533,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 91.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,087,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,590,000 after acquiring an additional 520,353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RCL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $318.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $316.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $378.00 to $381.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.68.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 0.2%

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $286.18 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $164.01 and a 52 week high of $366.50. The stock has a market cap of $78.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $277.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $305.12. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.07. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 44.68%. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 26.90%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.76, for a total transaction of $309,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,010,571.84. This trade represents a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.