Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets to Strong-Buy Rating

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on RCL. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $309.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $348.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $360.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $376.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.80.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of RCL opened at $282.07 on Tuesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12-month low of $232.10 and a 12-month high of $366.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $284.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.40. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 45.25%. The company had revenue of $4.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.830-3.930 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.100-17.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 17.27 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 49.3% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 117,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,931,000 after purchasing an additional 38,698 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,063,000. Dougherty & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,827,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 877,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,797,000 after buying an additional 201,014 shares during the period. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,424,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently 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.