Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Royal Caribbean has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 22 brokerages: 14 rate it a buy, seven recommend holding, and one gives a strong-buy rating. The average 12-month price target is $353.40.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.21 in EPS versus the $3.98 consensus and $4.83 billion in revenue, up 6.5% year over year. Analysts expect approximately $17.79 in EPS for the full year.
• RCL shares opened at $321.38, near the upper end of their 52-week range, while CEO Michael Bayley sold roughly $4.05 million worth of stock; institutional investors own 87.53% of the company.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $353.40.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Freedom Capital cut Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $410.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $380.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, May 1st.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $321.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $85.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.77. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a one year low of $232.10 and a one year high of $366.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $300.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.19.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.23. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.54% and a return on equity of 43.33%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.38 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.730-17.870 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 6.260-6.360 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 17.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Michael W. Bayley sold 12,811 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.99, for a total transaction of $4,048,147.89. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 45,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,313,399.03. This represents a 22.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 877,659 shares of the company's stock worth $244,797,000 after purchasing an additional 201,014 shares in the last quarter. Dougherty & Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,827,000. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,159,000. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,424,000. Finally, Capital International Sarl lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 363,713 shares of the company's stock worth $101,447,000 after purchasing an additional 58,734 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source