NBC Securities Inc. Makes New Investment in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $510,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 56,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,683,000 after acquiring an additional 3,235 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.7% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 472,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,114,000 after purchasing an additional 21,311 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.3% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,461 shares of the company's stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the company's stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 22,154.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,410,962 shares of the company's stock worth $289,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404,622 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on RCL shares. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $290.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, April 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $295.00 to $275.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $276.90.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of RCL traded down $2.39 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $273.95. 2,109,676 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,280,475. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.99. The firm has a market cap of $74.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.14. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $130.08 and a 12-month high of $279.79.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.92%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, 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 value of $4,960,760.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 165,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,868,055.10. This trade represents a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.