Jason Liberty Sells 90,910 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) CEO Jason Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total value of $29,710,297.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at $71,513,217.82. This represents a 29.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 4.1%

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded down $13.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $319.26. 2,393,028 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,499,937. The company has a market capitalization of $86.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $296.69 and its 200 day moving average is $303.37. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $164.01 and a 52 week high of $366.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The business had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. 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 is presently 25.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% during the second quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on RCL. Wall Street Zen downgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Key Stories 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)

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.