Royal Caribbean Cruises Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:RCL)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 53,141 call options on the company. This is an increase of 721% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,476 call options.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCL traded up $1.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $293.40. The stock had a trading volume of 583,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,403,114. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.91. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 52 week low of $164.01 and a 52 week high of $366.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $276.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $305.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.14.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $5.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.68 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.16 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 44.68% and a net margin of 23.33%.The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.20 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.580-15.630 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.740-2.790 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.76, for a total value of $309,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,010,571.84. This represents a 7.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RCL. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% during the second quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.4% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.4% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on RCL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, October 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $342.00 to $324.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $420.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $333.00 to $321.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $367.00 to $357.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.82.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

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.