Investors Purchase Large Volume of Royal Caribbean Cruises Call Options (NYSE:RCL)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 24,022 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 164% compared to the average volume of 9,093 call options.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded up $29.97 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $266.79. 4,284,313 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,243,666. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1 year low of $113.10 and a 1 year high of $267.24. The company has a market capitalization of $71.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 2.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $237.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $199.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 52.92%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 11.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 22.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RCL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $257.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $189.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $252.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 6,723 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 9,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,077,593.64. The trade was a 40.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 139,353 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.89, for a total transaction of $33,150,685.17. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,167,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,321,868,240.23. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 404,332 shares of company stock valued at $94,299,521. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RCL. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 10,599.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 409,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,696,000 after purchasing an additional 406,048 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 809.6% in the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 173,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,601,000 after purchasing an additional 154,090 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.2% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 161,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,703,000 after purchasing an additional 93,899 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at about $14,544,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3,935.2% in the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 76,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,635,000 after purchasing an additional 74,966 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

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.