Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Now Covered by Analysts at BNP Paribas

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

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $282.33.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL opened at $217.23 on Thursday. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 52-week low of $125.06 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $239.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.94. The company has a market cap of $58.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. 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 (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.