Freedom Capital Upgrades Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) to Strong-Buy

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) was upgraded by research analysts at Freedom Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on RCL. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $304.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $349.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $318.00 to $297.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Mizuho set a $380.00 price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $351.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $344.79.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 2.6%

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $293.95 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $271.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $283.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12 month low of $232.10 and a 12 month high of $366.50. The company has a market capitalization of $78.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.77.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.40. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.25% and a net margin of 24.36%.The business had revenue of $4.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.830-3.930 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.100-17.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 17.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RCL. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 184.4% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.