Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Stock: Retirement Systems of Alabama Raises Position

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 71.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 303,838 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 126,360 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $80,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lynch Investment Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maritza Montiel sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.21, for a total transaction of $122,884.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,202 shares in the company, valued at $4,055,786.42. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arne Wilhelmsen sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.23, for a total transaction of $9,696,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,185,910 shares in the company, valued at $5,231,771,689.30. This represents a 0.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 250,400 shares of company stock worth $82,263,584. Company insiders own 6.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RCL. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $345.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $410.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Northcoast Research decreased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $355.62.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $337.18 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $276.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.17. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $222.22 and a 1 year high of $356.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.19.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $6.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.38 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $5.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.61 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.78% and a return on equity of 43.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.75 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were issued 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 was Thursday, September 17th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.52%.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean Group, formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., is a global cruise vacation company. Its brands include Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises, which offer voyages ranging from large-ship family vacations to premium and luxury experiences.

The company serves travelers through itineraries to destinations around the world, including the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska and Asia. Its vacation offerings combine onboard accommodations, dining and entertainment with shore excursions and visits to ports and private destinations.

Founded in 1968, the company is headquartered in Miami, Florida.