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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 24,022 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 164% compared to the average daily volume of 9,093 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 price target (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.31.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total transaction of $53,732,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,556,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,335,253,633.20. The trade was a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total value of $763,922.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,243,287.76. This represents a 12.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 372,609 shares of company stock worth $87,647,208. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 257.4% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $264.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.19. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 52 week low of $113.10 and a 52 week high of $269.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 2.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $237.87 and a 200-day moving average of $199.52.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 52.92% and a net margin of 16.21%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 11.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.61%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.