Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Position Increased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 117,162 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 38,698 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $37,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.1% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 433,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,595,000 after buying an additional 43,184 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,806,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,066,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,728,810,000 after acquiring an additional 461,990 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 39,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,659,000 after acquiring an additional 6,253 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 253.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 556,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,241,000 after acquiring an additional 398,849 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted EBITDA momentum — RCL’s adjusted EBITDA topped $7B in 2025 and Zacks notes management is targeting roughly $8B in 2026, supporting profitability and cash-generation expectations that underpin upside potential. EBITDA Article
• Positive Sentiment: Lower fuel costs/valuation tailwind — one Seeking Alpha piece argues the recent oil selloff reduces fuel cost risk, making RCL relatively cheaper and enhancing dividend/upside appeal for investors who view current levels as an attractive entry. Oil Selloff Article
• Positive Sentiment: Product/demand expansion — Celebrity Cruises opened bookings for 2028 Galapagos sailings (Celebrity Flora), extending premium inventory and offering long-lead revenue visibility and higher-yield itineraries. This supports revenue mix and booking momentum. Celebrity Bookings
• Positive Sentiment: Relative outperformance and analyst tone — coverage from Barchart highlights RCL’s year-plus outperformance of the consumer cyclical sector with analysts moderately optimistic, which can support multiple expansion if momentum continues. Outperformance Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Balanced valuation outlook — another Seeking Alpha piece notes Royal Caribbean maintains a positive outlook even with periodic oil-price pressure but labels shares as fairly valued, suggesting limited near-term multiple expansion absent clearer macro improvements. Fairly Valued Article
• Negative Sentiment: Options market caution — unusually large put buying (about 17,450 puts, ~80% above typical daily volume) suggests some traders are hedging or speculating on near-term downside, which can increase intraday volatility and weigh on sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/geo risks still a headwind — coverage pointing to oil and geopolitical pressures notes these factors can compress valuations and hurt forward bookings if energy or conflict risks re-escalate. Valuation & Risks Article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on RCL shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, December 26th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $286.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $304.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $301.31. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total value of $29,710,297.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at $71,513,217.82. This trade represents a 29.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 in the last three months. 6.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.