Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Coverage Initiated at BNP Paribas

Stock analysts at BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 26.36% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on RCL. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $282.33.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $207.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $55.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $238.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.27. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a one year low of $125.06 and a one year high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 48.7% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 31,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,642,000 after acquiring an additional 10,412 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.8% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at about $4,779,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.8% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 6,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.