Investors Buy Large Volume of Royal Caribbean Cruises Call Options (NYSE:RCL)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 56,102 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 390% compared to the average daily volume of 11,440 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $168.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $151.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $165.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.31.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 1.4 %

RCL traded up $2.35 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $170.90. 1,336,908 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,483,808. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $160.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a PEG 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 has a 52-week low of $78.35 and a 52-week high of $173.40.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 16.32% and a return on equity of 52.49%. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 11.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 3,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.71, for a total value of $518,445.83. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 at this link. In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 3,073 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.71, for a total transaction of $518,445.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz bought 5,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,755,840. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. D1 Capital Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 105.7% in the 2nd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,512,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,075,000 after buying an additional 777,103 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $79,392,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter worth about $66,279,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,048,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,616,000 after purchasing an additional 400,565 shares during the period. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,950,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

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.