Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $165.00 to $185.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Royal Caribbean Cruises traded as high as $167.50 and last traded at $167.50, with a volume of 2719 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.40.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $164.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Macquarie boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $173.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,584 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.96, for a total transaction of $3,015,152.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 179,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,576,853.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.63, for a total value of $6,981,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 153,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,365,763.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,584 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.96, for a total value of $3,015,152.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 179,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,576,853.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 152,884 shares of company stock valued at $22,052,985. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $323,251,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,392,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,917,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,295,891,000 after purchasing an additional 487,327 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter worth approximately $66,279,000. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,950,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $42.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 2.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.19.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 51.54% and a net margin of 14.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 11.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.