Royal Caribbean Cruises Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:RCL)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 41,401 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 387% compared to the average daily volume of 8,501 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total value of $53,732,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,556,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,335,253,633.20. This represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 6,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.51, for a total transaction of $1,401,812.73. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,964 shares in the company, valued at $2,077,593.64. The trade was a 40.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 404,332 shares of company stock worth $94,299,521 over the last quarter. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth about $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 257.4% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 50.3% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $213.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.75.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL stock opened at $237.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $230.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 2.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12-month low of $113.10 and a 12-month high of $258.70.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 52.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.85 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 11.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.61%.

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.