Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Price Target Lowered to $295.00 at Susquehanna

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) had its target price trimmed by Susquehanna from $305.00 to $295.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a positive rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on RCL. StockNews.com raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Argus upped 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. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $213.59 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a fifty-two week low of $125.06 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $243.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $217.85. The company has a market cap of $57.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.98, a PEG 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 85.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $182,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 48.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 126,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,448,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 41,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,373,000 after buying an additional 2,956 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.