Strs Ohio Acquires 17,511 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• Strs Ohio increased its stake in Royal Caribbean by 9.9%, buying 17,511 shares to hold 194,969 shares worth about $54.38 million (≈0.07% of the company) at quarter-end.
• Q1 results beat expectations with adjusted EPS of $3.60 (vs. $3.20 consensus) and management returned roughly $1.1 billion to shareholders via buybacks/dividends, but the company trimmed FY‑2026 guidance to $17.10–$17.50 citing rising fuel costs tied to Middle East tensions.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently: a director sold 245,476 shares and insiders sold 1,967,319 shares (≈$626.7M) over the last 90 days, while analysts still show a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $347.10 price target.

Strs Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 194,969 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 17,511 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio owned 0.07% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $54,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RCL. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. SRH Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. GGM Financials LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines 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

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total transaction of $76,475,593.04. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total value of $453,144.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,203,935.82. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $410.00 price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday. Bank of America upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $377.00 to $348.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $347.10.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE RCL opened at $265.63 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $279.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $285.81. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $223.00 and a one year high of $366.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.40. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.25% and a net margin of 24.36%.The business had revenue of $4.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio 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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