Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Stock Price

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) had its price target reduced by Barclays from $308.00 to $249.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on RCL. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $272.85.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE:RCL traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $212.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,492,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,303,900. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1-year low of $130.08 and a 1-year high of $277.08. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $211.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.61.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 185,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.3% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,736 shares of the company's stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter worth approximately $252,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the company's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 48,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,061,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 105,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,578,000 after purchasing an additional 8,426 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.