IFG Advisory LLC Takes Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Key Points

• IFG Advisory LLC has initiated a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., acquiring 2,048 shares valued at approximately $421,000 in the first quarter.
• Insider transactions included Director Richard D. Fain selling 19,600 shares for nearly $4.96 million, reducing his stake by 10.59%.
• Royal Caribbean Cruises posts an impressive EPS of $4.38 for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations, with a projected 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IFG Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 22,154.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,410,962 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,868,000 after buying an additional 1,404,622 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3,544.4% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 963,034 shares of the company's stock worth $222,166,000 after acquiring an additional 936,609 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 21.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,991,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $614,487,000 after acquiring an additional 535,043 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,653,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $612,080,000 after acquiring an additional 513,702 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 15,633.2% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 353,996 shares of the company's stock worth $81,663,000 after purchasing an additional 351,746 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded down $4.43 on Thursday, reaching $309.59. 1,285,312 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,557,387. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $84.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 2.22. The firm's 50 day moving average is $306.51 and its 200-day moving average is $255.41. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $149.50 and a one year high of $355.91.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.04 by $0.34. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 47.15% and a net margin of 20.97%. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.21 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.47, for a total transaction of $1,715,550.29. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,578,432.22. The trade was a 39.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.10, for a total transaction of $4,960,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 165,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,868,055.10. The trade was a 10.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial set a $337.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $263.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Melius Research raised Royal Caribbean Cruises to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $230.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $321.10.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.