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

Key Points

• Royal Caribbean has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from 23 analysts (18 buy, 4 hold, 1 strong buy) with an average 1‑year target price of $348.29.
• Insiders sold a total of 1,967,319 shares worth $626.7M over the last quarter (including a $76.48M sale by Arne Wilhelmsen); insiders still own 6.95% of the company.
• The board authorized a $2.00 billion share repurchase (≈2.6% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $1.50 ($6.00 annualized, 2.1% yield; ex-dividend March 6).

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $348.2857.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RCL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total value of $453,144.30. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,203,935.82. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the director directly owned 16,435,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,120,443,401.40. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 over the last quarter. Insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 184.4% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 91 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $290.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market cap of $78.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.87. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12 month low of $164.01 and a 12 month high of $366.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $304.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $301.83.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is currently 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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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