Longbow Finance SA Boosts Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Longbow Finance SA increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 9.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,093 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,621 shares during the period. Longbow Finance SA’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $6,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,021,893,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,604,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,270,252,000 after acquiring an additional 929,414 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth $172,488,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7,971.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 540,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,165,000 after acquiring an additional 533,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 91.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,087,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,590,000 after purchasing an additional 520,353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Susquehanna set a $350.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 0.3%

RCL opened at $332.78 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $164.01 and a 52 week high of $366.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $295.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.60. The firm has a market cap of $90.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.91.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.