Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Stock Price Down 6% – Time to Sell?

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) traded down 6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $208.04 and last traded at $206.14. 356,341 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 2,259,819 shares. The stock had previously closed at $219.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 5.8 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $241.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.62. The company has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15.

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 earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. 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 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

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

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $707,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,476,003,000 after buying an additional 2,068,114 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3,544.4% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 963,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,166,000 after purchasing an additional 936,609 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,653,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $612,080,000 after purchasing an additional 513,702 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,327,000 after purchasing an additional 502,349 shares during the period. 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.