Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Raises Dividend to $0.75 Per Share

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.75 per share on Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55.

Royal Caribbean Cruises has a dividend payout ratio of 12.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Royal Caribbean Cruises to earn $17.42 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.6%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of RCL stock traded up $2.90 on Friday, reaching $262.99. 1,308,339 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,415,259. The company has a market capitalization of $70.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12-month low of $113.10 and a 12-month high of $277.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17. The business's 50 day moving average price is $243.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.13.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RCL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $284.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total value of $763,922.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,243,287.76. This represents a 12.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 392,109 shares of company stock worth $92,652,468. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.