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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 41,401 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 387% compared to the average daily volume of 8,501 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on RCL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $189.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $257.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $213.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total transaction of $5,250,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 204,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,953,500.42. This represents a 10.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total value of $53,732,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,556,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,335,253,633.20. This trade represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 404,332 shares of company stock valued at $94,299,521 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 39.6% during the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 49,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,818,000 after acquiring an additional 13,915 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.9% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,100,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 38.9% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth about $345,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of RCL stock opened at $237.76 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1 year low of $113.10 and a 1 year high of $258.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 2.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $230.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 52.92%. The firm had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.85 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 11.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 22.61%.

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.