Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. by 53.1%, now holding 10,201 shares valued at approximately $2.1 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Royal Caribbean Cruises, with price targets ranging from $245 to $405, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, representing a yield of 1.0% based on an annual payout of $3.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 53.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,201 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,528 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $2,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter worth $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on RCL. Truist Financial set a $337.00 price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group set a $311.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $390.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $321.10.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE:RCL traded down $4.43 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $309.59. 1,285,491 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,557,405. 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 $149.50 and a fifty-two week high of $355.91. The company has a market capitalization of $84.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $255.41.

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

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.