Morgan Stanley Raises Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Price Target to $230.00

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, April 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $279.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 target price for the company. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.05.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 1.4 %

RCL stock opened at $225.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $208.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1-year low of $130.08 and a 1-year high of $277.08. The firm has a market cap of $61.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.77 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 24.92%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.