Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $348.2857.

RCL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total value of $453,144.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,203,935.82. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 51,131 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.39, for a total transaction of $16,739,778.09. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 28,116 shares in the company, valued at $9,204,897.24. The trade was a 64.52% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 515,722 shares of company stock valued at $168,242,004 over the last quarter. Company 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. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 184.4% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $310.20 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $301.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market cap of $83.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.