Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 14,920 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 50% compared to the average volume of 9,917 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $353.30.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 4.4%

NYSE:RCL traded down $11.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $262.01. 2,217,160 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,546,819. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $300.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $295.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.87. 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 has a 12-month low of $164.01 and a 12-month high of $366.50.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,311,186,488.54. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total transaction of $29,710,297.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. The trade was a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 over the last three months. Insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 26,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,267,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 104.9% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 5,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,426,000 after buying an additional 2,617 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 108.6% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 156,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,751,000 after buying an additional 81,393 shares during the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth approximately $108,000. 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.