Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of RCL Q2 Earnings

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q2 2025 earnings estimates for Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, February 11th. Zacks Research analyst M. Kaushik now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $3.81 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $3.20. The consensus estimate for Royal Caribbean Cruises’ current full-year earnings is $14.96 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Q3 2025 earnings at $5.69 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.50 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $14.43 EPS.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 target price (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL opened at $262.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a market cap of $70.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.59. The company’s 50 day moving average is $243.47 and its 200 day moving average is $208.02. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12-month low of $113.10 and a 12-month high of $277.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $707,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,476,003,000 after buying an additional 2,068,114 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,327,000 after buying an additional 502,349 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 10,599.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 409,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,696,000 after buying an additional 406,048 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 392,109 shares of company stock valued at $92,652,468. 7.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.58%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.