Morgan Stanley Cuts Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Price Target to $220.00

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) had its target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $270.00 to $220.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Argus increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 price target (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:RCL opened at $191.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a twelve month low of $125.06 and a twelve month high of $277.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $224.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.30.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 in the last three months. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 7,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 10.3% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.5% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 12,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,254,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.5% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,053,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.