Royal Caribbean Cruises Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:RCL)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 22,136 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 91% compared to the average daily volume of 11,618 put options.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE:RCL traded down $2.88 on Wednesday, hitting $279.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 689,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,650,033. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a one year low of $232.10 and a one year high of $366.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $283.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.40. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 45.25%. The company had revenue of $4.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 17.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 184.4% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on RCL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $296.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $318.00 to $297.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $309.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $376.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $346.80.

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.