Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $265.95, but opened at $282.99. Royal Caribbean Cruises shares last traded at $292.5180, with a volume of 1,194,975 shares traded.

Key Royal Caribbean Cruises News

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oil prices plunged after reports of a temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for a ceasefire window, easing a major geopolitical risk and cutting fuel-cost outlooks for carriers — a direct tailwind for cruise operators like Royal Caribbean. S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite Hit Records as Iran Reopens Hormuz Chokepoint for Ceasefire Period
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage notes Royal Caribbean “popped” as oil fell — traders are rotating into travel and leisure names on the fuel-cost relief story. Why Royal Caribbean Stock Popped on Friday
• Positive Sentiment: Major outlets highlight United and Royal Caribbean leading the market rally as travel names benefit from plunging oil — momentum from broad indexes is helping RCL shares. United and Royal Caribbean Lead the S&P 500 Today. Travel Stocks Surge as Oil Prices Plunge.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other industry notes continue to flag strong cruise demand, pricing power and digital investments that support medium-term fundamentals for RCL, but they also point to inflation and cost pressures as offsetting factors. Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights Royal Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and OneSpaWorld
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate social-impact news: Royal Caribbean Group launched a foundation and announced education and community pledges — positive for ESG profile but limited near-term stock impact. Royal Caribbean Group Officially Launches Royal Caribbean Group Foundation
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pressure weighed on the shares yesterday: Stifel trimmed its price target on RCL, which triggered selling and industry concern — that explains the recent pullback before today’s rebound. Royal Caribbean (RCL) Stock Trades Down, Here Is Why

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RCL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $383.00 to $349.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $318.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $349.20.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 8.3%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $292.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $77.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.93.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The company had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 38.44%.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total transaction of $29,710,297.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at $71,513,217.82. This trade represents a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total value of $113,355,118.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,311,186,488.54. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 184.4% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL), operating as part of the Royal Caribbean Group, is a global cruise company that develops, markets and operates passenger cruise ships. The company operates multiple consumer-facing cruise brands that offer short- and long-duration itineraries and a range of onboard experiences. Its core activities include itineraries and voyage operations, guest services and hospitality, onboard food and beverage, entertainment and recreation programming, and the commercial activities needed to sell and support cruises through both direct and travel?agent channels.

Royal Caribbean’s ships serve a broad set of geographies worldwide, regularly deploying vessels in the Caribbean, North America (including Alaska), Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.