Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Price Target Cut to $249.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $308.00 to $249.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on RCL. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.84.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $199.99 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $53.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a one year low of $130.08 and a one year high of $277.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $215.02 and its 200-day moving average is $226.09.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. Equities analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Ostrum Asset Management lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Ostrum Asset Management now owns 11,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,678,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% 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.