Moody National Bank Trust Division Buys Shares of 4,484 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• Moody National Bank Trust Division acquired 4,484 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., valued at approximately $1.4 million, indicating a growing institutional interest in the company.
• Royal Caribbean reported an earnings beat with an EPS of $4.38, surpassing analysts' expectations, and aims for FY 2025 guidance of $15.410 to $15.550 EPS.
• The company recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.75 to $1.00, reflecting positive financial performance and a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Moody National Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,404,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Optimum Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded up $3.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $329.16. 3,627,787 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,852,686. The stock has a market cap of $89.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $336.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $274.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.04 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.54 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 47.15%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.410-15.550 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 5.550-5.650 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 25th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 25th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is currently 22.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $235.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $302.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and set a $385.00 target price (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $326.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.02, for a total transaction of $4,976,320.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 150,291 shares in the company, valued at $46,743,506.82. This represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 10,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.04, for a total transaction of $3,399,412.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,414,966.28. The trade was a 38.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,507 shares of company stock valued at $10,091,282 in the last three months. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.