Share Repurchase Program Authorized by Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Board

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on RCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

NYSE RCL traded up $2.90 on Friday, reaching $262.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,308,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,415,259. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.71 billion, a PE ratio of 24.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.59. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $243.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12 month low of $113.10 and a 12 month high of $277.08.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. 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 an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total value of $53,732,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,556,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,335,253,633.20. This trade represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the business'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 transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 392,109 shares of company stock worth $92,652,468 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

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.