New Century Financial Group LLC Decreases Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

New Century Financial Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,942 shares of the company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 257.4% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total value of $5,250,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 204,521 shares in the company, valued at $42,953,500.42. This trade represents a 10.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 6,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.51, for a total transaction of $1,401,812.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,077,593.64. This trade represents a 40.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 404,332 shares of company stock valued at $94,299,521. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $232.59 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $237.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $113.10 and a 1-year high of $258.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $62.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 52.92%. The company had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.85 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 11.66 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 22.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Three 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.81.

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.