Royal Caribbean Cruises Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:RCL)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 17,450 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 80% compared to the typical daily volume of 9,698 put options.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the sale, the director owned 16,681,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,311,186,488.54. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RCL. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.2% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.4% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 1,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of RCL traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $289.95. 1,394,665 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,557,676. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $304.40 and its 200-day moving average is $301.83. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50. The company has a market cap of $78.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.87.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire 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 stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders 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 2.1%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 38.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, December 26th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.29.

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.