Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Royal Caribbean shares hit a new 52-week low, reflecting recent pressure on the stock even though it later traded off the lows during the session.
• The company still showed solid underlying operating performance in its latest quarter, beating EPS estimates and raising guidance for both Q2 2026 and FY 2026.
• Sentiment is mixed: analysts remain broadly bullish, but recent estimate cuts and the rejection of its Mexico “Perfect Day” project highlight regulatory and growth concerns.

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $232.10 and last traded at $254.1580, with a volume of 6640933 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $247.20.

Royal Caribbean Cruises News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Caribbean announced a new partnership with Affirm to offer flexible, interest-free installment payments for cruise bookings in the UK and Canada, which could support bookings and customer conversion. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: RCL has been one of the most-searched stocks on Zacks, signaling elevated investor interest, though this is not a direct catalyst for earnings or operations. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Mexico’s rejection of the company’s “Perfect Day” project could hurt Royal Caribbean’s growth plans and raises regulatory risk around a key investment opportunity. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts at Zacks Research lowered earnings estimates for Royal Caribbean, suggesting some slowing in expected profitability versus prior forecasts. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on RCL shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. 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 report on Thursday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $376.00 to $341.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price 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. Finally, Mizuho set a $380.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $347.21.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 2.8%

The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company has a market capitalization of $68.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.77. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $270.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $282.05.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $4.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 45.25%. The business's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.28 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,245,155 shares of company stock worth $393,013,089. Insiders own 6.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of RCL. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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