Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $343.09 and last traded at $342.01, with a volume of 334563 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $338.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Melius Research raised Royal Caribbean Cruises to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 price objective for the company. Macquarie lowered their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $300.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $293.90.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $272.55 and its 200 day moving average is $242.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 19.38% and a return on equity of 47.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 24.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.10, for a total value of $4,960,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 165,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,868,055.10. The trade was a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.