Range Financial Group LLC Cuts Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Range Financial Group LLC trimmed its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 90.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,836 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,287 shares during the quarter. Range Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 43,184 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,806,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,066,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,728,810,000 after buying an additional 461,990 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 117,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,931,000 after buying an additional 38,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 39,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,659,000 after acquiring an additional 6,253 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on RCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price 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, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $353.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $261.51 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $70.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.87. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $164.01 and a 1 year high of $366.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $300.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $293.36.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.