Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Sets New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $318.00 to $297.00. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. Royal Caribbean Cruises traded as low as $232.10 and last traded at $254.1580, with a volume of 6640933 shares. The stock had previously closed at $247.20.

Several other research firms also recently commented on RCL. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $296.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $349.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $309.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $345.63.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total value of $76,475,593.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,435,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,120,443,401.40. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,135,858 shares of company stock valued at $358,605,301. 6.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Caribbean reported a strong Q1 2026 with $4.50 billion in revenue, 11% year-over-year growth, and GAAP EPS of $3.48, topping guidance. The company also said demand remains resilient and that WAVE season bookings hit a record, which supports the bullish case for future cruise pricing and occupancy. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: The company reiterated roughly 10% revenue growth and higher net yields, but also pointed to geopolitical and environmental headwinds, suggesting execution remains solid while risks stay elevated. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Truist Financial lowered its price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) from $318 to $297 and kept a hold rating, signaling less upside than before despite still being above the current share price. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded RCL from hold to strong sell, and separately cut estimates for Q3 2026, Q4 2026, FY2026, and Q1 2027 earnings, adding to near-term pressure on the stock. Article
• Negative Sentiment: News that Mexico rejected Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day water park project adds another regulatory setback, which could weigh on expansion plans and investor confidence. Article

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RCL. Compass Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% during the first quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,696,000 after buying an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Cadia Private Client LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter valued at approximately $275,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter valued at approximately $152,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,120,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,370,000 after buying an additional 76,372 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $69.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $269.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.17.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $4.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 45.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.830-3.930 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.100-17.500 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

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.