Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $262.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on RCL. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday. Argus raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $282.33.

Remove Ads

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

NYSE:RCL traded down $9.89 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $207.35. 2,547,926 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,316,864. The business has a 50 day moving average of $238.63 and a 200 day moving average of $223.72. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1-year low of $125.06 and a 1-year high of $277.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $55.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is 28.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,539,648.30. This trade represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,357,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth approximately $90,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth $28,954,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at $279,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.