Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Holdings Cut by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 21.7%, holding 19,662 shares worth approximately $4.04 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors adjusted their positions, including Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquiring a new stake worth $20.48 million, while Quantitative Investment Management LLC increased its holdings by 94.8%.
• Royal Caribbean Cruises exceeded earnings expectations for the previous quarter, reporting an EPS of $4.38 against an expected $4.04, and has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.410-15.550 EPS.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 21.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,662 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,455 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $4,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 1st quarter worth approximately $20,477,000. Synovus Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter worth about $423,000. ICONIQ Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 1,896 shares of the company's stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Quantitative Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 94.8% in the 1st quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC now owns 12,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,662,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forest Avenue Capital Management LP grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 71.2% in the 1st quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 283,127 shares of the company's stock worth $58,166,000 after purchasing an additional 117,768 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 16,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 directly owned 150,291 shares in the company, valued at $46,743,506.82. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.47, for a total value of $1,715,550.29. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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 corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RCL. Truist Financial set a $337.00 price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $230.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $263.00 to $358.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Macquarie decreased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $300.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $327.14.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $363.07 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $154.08 and a 52 week high of $366.50. 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 cap of $98.62 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 2.22. The company's 50-day moving average price is $328.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.10.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.

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