Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Short Interest Update

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,100,000 shares, a drop of 28.3% from the August 15th total of 15,480,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Currently, 4.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL traded up $1.85 on Monday, reaching $169.81. 1,383,932 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,498,441. The firm has a market cap of $43.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 2.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.17. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12 month low of $78.35 and a 12 month high of $173.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $159.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.94.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 52.49% and a net margin of 16.32%. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 11.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 20th.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Macquarie raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $165.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $168.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Argus lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.31.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CFO Naftali Holtz bought 5,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $140.00 per share, for a total transaction of $749,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 48,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,755,840. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total value of $919,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,164.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz bought 5,350 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $140.00 per share, for a total transaction of $749,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 48,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,755,840. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 7.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 905.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 233.3% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.