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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 17,883 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 116% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,274 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $318.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NYSE RCL traded down $11.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $304.06. 1,473,199 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,357,516. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12 month low of $164.01 and a 12 month high of $366.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $302.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $303.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The company has a market cap of $82.26 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.91.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

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

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 issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total value of $29,710,297.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at $71,513,217.82. This trade represents a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total transaction of $2,562,053.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 32,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,695,121.06. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 722,164 shares of company stock worth $233,668,845. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 36,165,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,088,156,000 after buying an additional 3,215,382 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,253,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,438,292,000 after acquiring an additional 187,283 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,176,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,627,669,000 after purchasing an additional 920,042 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,576,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,433,052,000 after purchasing an additional 84,202 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,054,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,961,758,000 after purchasing an additional 155,491 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.