Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Purchases 28,500 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management increased its stake in Royal Caribbean by 166.4%, purchasing 28,500 shares to hold 45,626 shares valued at about $12.73 million per its latest 13F filing.
• Royal Caribbean beat Q1 adjusted EPS (~$3.60 vs. $3.20 consensus) and returned roughly $1.1 billion to shareholders through $836 million of buybacks and dividends, while raising the quarterly dividend to $1.50 ($6.00 annualized).
• Management trimmed FY 2026 guidance to $17.10–$17.50 (Q2 to $3.83–$3.93), citing rising fuel costs and itinerary disruptions tied to Middle East tensions as near‑term headwinds to margins.

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 166.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,626 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 28,500 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $12,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 562 shares of the company's stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 794 shares of the company's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 918 shares of the company's stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,824 shares of the company's stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and strong demand: RCL reported adjusted EPS that beat consensus (adjusted EPS ~$3.60) and revenue roughly in line, with management saying consumer demand remains healthy — a primary driver for the stock pop. PR Newswire Q1 Release
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns: Management returned roughly $1.1 billion to shareholders in Q1 via $836M of share repurchases and dividends, which supports near‑term EPS and investor sentiment. PR Newswire Q1 Release
• Positive Sentiment: Bookings resilience: Mediterranean itineraries are seeing a bounce in bookings after regional disruptions, helping revenue outlook for peak seasons. TravelPulse
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price-target revision: Citigroup lowered its RCL price target from $377 to $348 but kept a "buy" rating — still implying upside from current levels, though the trimmed PT reflects near‑term risk. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation re-checks: Several market write-ups are revisiting RCL after the post‑earnings pullback, weighing the long‑term lifestyle growth thesis versus short‑term cost pressure. Yahoo Finance Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Higher fuel costs & guidance trim: Management updated FY 2026 guidance to $17.10–$17.50 (and Q2 to $3.83–$3.93), citing rising fuel costs tied to Middle East tensions — the guidance revision is a headwind to margins and investor expectations. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term itinerary & cost risk: Geopolitical disruption has forced itinerary changes and raised fuel expense — risks that could pressure margins if costs remain elevated. Quartz
• Neutral Sentiment: Noise and non‑related tickers: Some headlines reference other "RCL" tickers (e.g., RCL Foods on JSE) — ignore those when evaluating Royal Caribbean Group NYSE: RCL. Yahoo - RCL Foods

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total value of $76,475,593.04. Following the sale, the director owned 16,435,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,120,443,401.40. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total value of $453,144.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,849 shares in the company, valued at $4,203,935.82. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 in the last 90 days. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on RCL shares. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho set a $380.00 price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $318.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $410.00 price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $347.10.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL stock opened at $265.63 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $279.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market cap of $71.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.77. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $223.00 and a 1-year high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $4.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.25% and a net margin of 24.36%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.830-3.930 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.100-17.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises NYSE: RCL, operating as part of the Royal Caribbean Group, is a global cruise company that develops, markets and operates passenger cruise ships. The company operates multiple consumer-facing cruise brands that offer short- and long-duration itineraries and a range of onboard experiences. Its core activities include itineraries and voyage operations, guest services and hospitality, onboard food and beverage, entertainment and recreation programming, and the commercial activities needed to sell and support cruises through both direct and travel‑agent channels.

Royal Caribbean's ships serve a broad set of geographies worldwide, regularly deploying vessels in the Caribbean, North America (including Alaska), Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.

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