Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Reduces Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky sharply reduced its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 79.9% in the first quarter, selling 77,060 shares and leaving it with 19,362 shares valued at about $5.33 million.
• Royal Caribbean reported strong quarterly results, posting $3.60 EPS versus the $3.20 estimate and 11.3% year-over-year revenue growth to $4.45 billion, while also issuing full-year 2026 EPS guidance of $17.10 to $17.50.
• Despite some mixed analyst moves, Wall Street remains largely positive on RCL, with an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $346.80; the stock also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.50, or $6.00 annually.

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky decreased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 79.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 19,362 shares of the company's stock after selling 77,060 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $5,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 36,165,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,088,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,215,382 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,253,450 shares of the company's stock worth $8,438,292,000 after purchasing an additional 187,283 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,176,544 shares of the company's stock worth $5,627,669,000 after purchasing an additional 920,042 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,576,751 shares of the company's stock worth $3,433,052,000 after purchasing an additional 84,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,054,191 shares of the company's stock worth $1,961,758,000 after purchasing an additional 155,491 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL opened at $282.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $232.10 and a 12-month high of $366.50. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $286.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.86.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $4.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on RCL. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $350.00 to $337.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $351.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $309.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $346.80.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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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