Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $254.03, but opened at $248.35. Royal Caribbean Cruises shares last traded at $249.17, with a volume of 178,388 shares.

Specifically, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was 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 now owns 165,421 shares in the company, valued at $41,868,055.10. The trade was a 10.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on RCL shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $249.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $272.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, April 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $279.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 0.2%

The firm has a market cap of $64.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $214.31 and a 200-day moving average of $230.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 24.92%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,712,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,854,905,000 after purchasing an additional 278,860 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,674,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,890,943,000 after buying an additional 602,447 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,856,000 after buying an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $707,833,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 21.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,991,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,487,000 after acquiring an additional 535,043 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.