Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Given New $376.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) had its price target raised by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $371.00 to $376.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 34.49% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on RCL. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.52.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 2.6%

RCL stock traded up $7.05 on Monday, reaching $279.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,402,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,547,501. The firm has a market cap of $75.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $299.78. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12-month low of $164.01 and a 12-month high of $366.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total transaction of $453,144.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,203,935.82. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total value of $2,562,053.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 32,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,695,121.06. The trade was a 19.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,021,893,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 36,165,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,088,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,215,382 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 25,747.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,202,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197,510 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,604,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,270,252,000 after purchasing an additional 929,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,176,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,627,669,000 after purchasing an additional 920,042 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.