National Pension Service Grows Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. by 14.9%, owning 992,579 shares valued at approximately $203.9 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• In the most recent quarter, Royal Caribbean reported earnings of $4.38 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues of $4.54 billion, marking a 10.4% increase year-over-year.
• Despite a solid performance, several analysts have mixed reviews on Royal Caribbean's stock, with ratings ranging from "strong buy" to "hold", indicating varying levels of market confidence.

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 14.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 992,579 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 128,530 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.37% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $203,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. LGT Group Foundation purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter worth approximately $348,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter worth approximately $1,162,000. Trust Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.3% during the first quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 2,823 shares of the company's stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.4% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 32,616 shares of the company's stock worth $6,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on RCL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $302.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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 report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Melius Research raised Royal Caribbean Cruises to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $323.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.47, for a total transaction of $1,715,550.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,826 shares in the company, valued at $2,578,432.22. This trade represents a 39.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.02, for a total value of $4,976,320.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 150,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,743,506.82. This represents a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 4.2%

RCL stock traded up $13.21 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $327.16. 3,272,884 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,528,767. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $312.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 2.22. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $154.08 and a 1-year high of $355.91.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.38 EPS 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 business had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.21 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS 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.