Analysts Set Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Target Price at $276.90

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $276.90.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $249.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group set a $311.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of RCL opened at $270.00 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $227.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1-year low of $130.08 and a 1-year high of $279.89.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.92%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.10, for a total value of $4,960,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 165,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,868,055.10. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,712,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,854,905,000 after acquiring an additional 278,860 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,674,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,890,943,000 after purchasing an additional 602,447 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,856,000 after purchasing an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $707,833,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 21.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,991,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,487,000 after purchasing an additional 535,043 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.