Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Position Trimmed by Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P.

Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P. trimmed its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,495 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,700 shares during the quarter. Royal Caribbean Cruises comprises approximately 6.5% of Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.06% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $49,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter worth $1,021,893,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,604,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,270,252,000 after acquiring an additional 929,414 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 560.9% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 676,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,949,000 after acquiring an additional 574,256 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth about $172,488,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 91.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,087,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,590,000 after purchasing an additional 520,353 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

• Positive Sentiment: RCL received high growth-factor grades among S&P consumer discretionary names, highlighting stronger fundamental/growth metrics versus peers — a favorable signal for growth-oriented investors and quant funds. Royal Caribbean Cruises tops growth factor grades among S&P Consumer Discretionary holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary (Zacks) profiles RCL as a strong growth stock, reinforcing the buy-side narrative around earnings recovery and multi-year demand trends — this can attract momentum and fundamental buyers. Here’s Why Royal Caribbean (RCL) is a Strong Growth Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Celebrity Cruises (part of RCL) announced an expanded river-cruise destination program aimed at premium experiences — a product upgrade that can support higher yields, ancillary revenue and brand differentiation over time. CELEBRITY CRUISES IS REDEFINING RIVER TRAVEL WITH THE INDUSTRY’S MOST EXTENSIVE AND EXPERIENTIAL DESTINATION EXPERIENCES
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock finished higher today despite a weak market session, suggesting selective investor buying in RCL versus broader indices; this reflects short-term positioning more than a clear catalyst. Royal Caribbean (RCL) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Royal Caribbean is experimenting with novel onboard entertainment (a talent show at sea) intended to support valuation via engagement/ancillary spend — interesting for marketing/branding but the financial impact is uncertain. Royal Caribbean Bets On Talent Show At Sea To Support Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Oil-price volatility and geopolitical risk drove a sector selloff earlier this week, triggering a sharp intraday drop in RCL shares — higher fuel costs are a direct margin risk for cruise operators and amplified the pullback. Royal Caribbean Plunges 6% as Oil Shock Torpedoes Cruise Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Macro headlines (oil spike after Iran-related escalation) pressured broader markets and consumer-exposed sectors, keeping downside risk for RCL until energy/geopolitical volatility cools. Nasdaq leads Wall St lower as oil prices spike on Iran revenge strikes

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RCL. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report 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 company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of RCL opened at $272.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.87. The company’s fifty day moving average is $304.16 and its 200 day moving average is $300.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS 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 business had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. 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 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total value of $76,475,593.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,435,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,120,443,401.40. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total value of $2,562,053.34. Following the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

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.