Wealthfront Advisers LLC Has $12.68 Million Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,191 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,808 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $12,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RCL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,021,893,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 929,414 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth $172,488,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7,971.4% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 540,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,165,000 after buying an additional 533,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $340,590,000 after buying an additional 520,353 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho set a $379.00 price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, December 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 0.2%

RCL opened at $347.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $292.63 and a 200-day moving average of $303.18.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.62%.

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

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.