Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $275.00 to $310.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus' target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.23% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Melius Research upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $249.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Macquarie reduced their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $300.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $276.90.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL stock traded up $5.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $271.39. The company had a trading volume of 2,206,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,273,859. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $221.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.49. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a fifty-two week low of $130.08 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.14.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.10, for a total transaction of $4,960,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 165,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,868,055.10. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,712,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,854,905,000 after acquiring an additional 278,860 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,674,763 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,890,943,000 after acquiring an additional 602,447 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,373,856,000 after acquiring an additional 353,893 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at $707,833,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,991,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $614,487,000 after purchasing an additional 535,043 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.