Freedom Capital Upgrades Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) to Strong-Buy

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) was upgraded by equities researchers at Freedom Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on RCL. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $350.00 to $337.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $318.00 to $297.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $296.00 price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Loop Capital assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating and a $304.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.79.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 2.6%

RCL stock opened at $293.95 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a twelve month low of $232.10 and a twelve month high of $366.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $271.01 and its 200-day moving average is $283.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.77.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.71 earnings per share. The company’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. Sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 17.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.5% in the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 7,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,125,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% in the first quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,696,000 after buying an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter worth $223,000. Finally, Cadia Private Client LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter worth $275,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.