Caprock Group LLC Purchases Shares of 6,959 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 6,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,252,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 85.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at $58,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $332.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market cap of $90.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.91. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $295.46 and a 200-day moving average of $303.60.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The business had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on RCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Susquehanna set a $350.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.