Versor Investments LP Increases Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 104.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,656 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 350 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 3.3 %

RCL opened at $246.04 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $121.58 and a one year high of $277.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $244.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 price objective (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.12.

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.