Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $265.95, but opened at $282.99. Royal Caribbean Cruises shares last traded at $292.5180, with a volume of 1,194,975 shares traded.

More Royal Caribbean Cruises News

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oil prices plunged after reports of a temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for a ceasefire window, easing a major geopolitical risk and cutting fuel-cost outlooks for carriers — a direct tailwind for cruise operators like Royal Caribbean. S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite Hit Records as Iran Reopens Hormuz Chokepoint for Ceasefire Period
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage notes Royal Caribbean “popped” as oil fell — traders are rotating into travel and leisure names on the fuel-cost relief story. Why Royal Caribbean Stock Popped on Friday
• Positive Sentiment: Major outlets highlight United and Royal Caribbean leading the market rally as travel names benefit from plunging oil — momentum from broad indexes is helping RCL shares. United and Royal Caribbean Lead the S&P 500 Today. Travel Stocks Surge as Oil Prices Plunge.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other industry notes continue to flag strong cruise demand, pricing power and digital investments that support medium-term fundamentals for RCL, but they also point to inflation and cost pressures as offsetting factors. Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights Royal Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and OneSpaWorld
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate social-impact news: Royal Caribbean Group launched a foundation and announced education and community pledges — positive for ESG profile but limited near-term stock impact. Royal Caribbean Group Officially Launches Royal Caribbean Group Foundation
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pressure weighed on the shares yesterday: Stifel trimmed its price target on RCL, which triggered selling and industry concern — that explains the recent pullback before today’s rebound. Royal Caribbean (RCL) Stock Trades Down, Here Is Why

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on RCL shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $318.00 to $327.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $350.00 to $321.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $383.00 to $349.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $361.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $349.20.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 8.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $77.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $292.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.19.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The company’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 38.44%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total transaction of $453,144.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,203,935.82. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total value of $2,562,053.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 32,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,695,121.06. This trade represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 in the last three months. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $693,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.4% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 1,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.