Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Receives $348.29 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $348.2857.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on RCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 4.1%

Shares of RCL stock opened at $319.26 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $296.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $302.95. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 52 week low of $164.01 and a 52 week high of $366.50. The stock has a market cap of $86.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Headlines Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 2025 results showed solid demand and margin recovery — revenue and EPS rose ~13% and ~36% year‑over‑year, operating profit jumped ~49%, and operating cash generation improved. These fundamentals support analyst bullishness and longer‑term earnings upgrades. RCL Q4 2025 Earnings (QuiverQuant)
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains constructive: broker consensus is around a “Moderate Buy” and many firms maintain buy/overweight ratings with price targets well above current levels — a tailwind for the stock if sentiment persists. Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy (AmericanBankingNews)
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research nudged near‑term EPS estimates slightly higher for Q1 and Q2, signaling some upward revision to the company’s short‑term earnings outlook. (These are modest changes but supportive.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks also published longer‑range projections (FY2027/FY2028) that are mixed — a small cut to FY2027 was offset by higher FY2028 expectations — leaving medium‑term consensus roughly intact.
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Caribbean priced $2.5 billion of senior unsecured notes ($1.25B due 2033 at 4.75% and $1.25B due 2038 at 5.25%). The deal increases debt and fixed interest obligations, which can pressure the stock, especially given already elevated capex and leverage metrics. Pricing of Senior Unsecured Notes (PR Newswire) Royal Caribbean Issues $2.5 Billion in Senior Notes (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: High near‑term capital spending: management’s reported capex jumped materially in Q4, and Quiver data shows insider sales in recent months — both factors can worry investors about future free cash flow and signal reduced insider conviction. Capex & Insider Activity (QuiverQuant)

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael W. Bayley sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.82, for a total value of $26,145,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 58,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,990,856.56. This represents a 57.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total transaction of $29,710,297.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 218,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. This represents a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 226,483 shares of company stock worth $74,052,607. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 40.8% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 20,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,297,000 after acquiring an additional 6,063 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 30.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.