Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Upgraded to Hold by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

RCL has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $165.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $168.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $140.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $182.13.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of RCL stock opened at $156.55 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.06. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a fifty-two week low of $78.35 and a fifty-two week high of $173.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 2.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.45. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 52.49% and a net margin of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 11.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 20.62%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 3,073 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.71, for a total transaction of $518,445.83. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,620,629.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 3,073 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.71, for a total transaction of $518,445.83. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,620,629.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz acquired 5,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $140.00 per share, for a total transaction of $749,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,755,840. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,457 shares of company stock valued at $4,452,898. 7.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,624,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $325,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter valued at $611,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 809.6% in the 2nd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 173,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,601,000 after purchasing an additional 154,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 51,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,146,000 after purchasing an additional 2,856 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% 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.