Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Q2 2026 earnings at $3.87 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $6.33 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $6.29 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.37 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.40 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $17.20 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $17.13 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $3.68 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $3.70 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $5.59 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $5.46 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $4.21 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $18.96 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $5.14 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $21.87 EPS.

RCL has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $309.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $330.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $349.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $376.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $347.21.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $260.69 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $270.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $281.87. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 52 week low of $232.10 and a 52 week high of $366.50. The company has a market capitalization of $69.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.40. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.25% and a net margin of 24.36%.The company had revenue of $4.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.830-3.930 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.100-17.500 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 17.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total value of $113,355,118.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,135,858 shares of company stock valued at $358,605,301. Company insiders own 6.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 36,165,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,088,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,215,382 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth $456,752,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 25,747.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,202,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197,510 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,176,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,627,669,000 after acquiring an additional 920,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 135.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,306,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,925,000 after acquiring an additional 750,723 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises News Summary

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

• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from “hold” to “strong sell,” a bearish signal that may weigh on investor sentiment. Zacks downgrade report
• Negative Sentiment: The firm also lowered earnings estimates for Q3 2026, Q4 2026, FY2026, and Q1 2027, suggesting expectations for slightly softer results ahead. Zacks estimate revisions
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Caribbean is also facing a potential setback in Mexico, after authorities rejected its “Perfect Day” water park proposal, forcing the company to reassess related investment plans. Mexico rejects Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day water park
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention remains elevated, with RCL among the most searched cruise stocks and compared with peers in recent market commentary, but this is not a direct fundamental catalyst. Investors heavily search Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL)

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.