Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Price Target Cut to $350.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS cut Royal Caribbean's price target from $371 to $350 but maintained a "buy" rating, which implies roughly a 24% upside from the stock's prior close.
• The stock holds a consensus "Moderate Buy" from analysts with a consensus target of $352.35, and several firms have recently raised individual targets well above current levels.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently: the CEO sold 90,910 shares and a director sold 356,026 shares, with insiders disposing of about 1,967,319 shares (≈$626.7M) in the past 90 days while still owning 6.95% of the company.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by research analysts at UBS Group from $371.00 to $350.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group's target price would suggest a potential upside of 24.14% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $352.35.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded up $5.00 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $281.94. 2,130,216 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,510,216. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1 year low of $185.50 and a 1 year high of $366.50. The company has a market capitalization of $76.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $296.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

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

Insider Activity

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total transaction of $29,710,297.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,513,217.82. This trade represents a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,311,186,488.54. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 26,053 shares of the company's stock worth $7,267,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 104.9% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 5,111 shares of the company's stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 2,617 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 108.6% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 156,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,751,000 after purchasing an additional 81,393 shares during the period. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

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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