Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after Bank of America upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $242.59, but opened at $257.20. Bank of America now has a $330.00 price target on the stock. Royal Caribbean Cruises shares last traded at $259.0360, with a volume of 679,877 shares traded.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $297.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $327.00 to $362.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $345.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.80.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Michael Bayley sold 12,811 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 45,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,313,399.03. The trade was a 22.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America upgraded RCL to Buy from Neutral and set a $330 price target, citing the roughly 26% share-price pullback. The decline reduced RCL’s estimated 2027 enterprise-value-to-EBITDA multiple to below 10x, versus a recent average near 12x. Royal Caribbean upgraded to Buy at Bank of America as selloff creates entry point
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank also raised RCL to Buy from Hold, saying the recent slump creates an attractive entry point for a high-quality travel company. The upgrades suggest analysts view the selloff as valuation-driven rather than a deterioration in cruise demand. Deutsche Bank lifts Royal Caribbean to Buy, sees attractive entry point
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to cite resilient travel demand and Royal Caribbean’s operating quality as reasons for optimism. Tigress Financial reaffirmed its Buy rating with a $425 target, while Bank of America and Deutsche Bank characterized RCL as a “quality business on sale.” RCL Stock In Focus — Wall Street Turns Bullish On Cruise Line Operator As Travel Demand Stays Strong
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Caribbean’s investment in Sandals Resorts is expected to contribute to EBITDA and provide another potential earnings-growth catalyst, although the timing and scale of benefits remain dependent on travel conditions. Royal Caribbean’s Sandals Investment Set to Boost EBITDA Despite Macro Risks
• Neutral Sentiment: The bullish analyst calls come ahead of Carnival’s earnings report, which could provide fresh read-through on booking trends, pricing and broader cruise-industry demand. Investors may therefore expect elevated sector-related volatility.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upgrades, analysts acknowledge macroeconomic risks facing travel spending. RCL also remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, reflecting ongoing investor caution after the recent pullback.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 36,165,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,088,156,000 after buying an additional 3,215,382 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,549,422,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,176,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,627,669,000 after purchasing an additional 920,042 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,689,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,409,971,000 after buying an additional 270,930 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,416,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $673,990,000 after buying an additional 465,401 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $283.21 and a 200-day moving average of $281.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market cap of $69.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.74.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $4.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.82 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.54% and a return on equity of 43.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.38 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 37.08%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., now known as Royal Caribbean Group, is a global cruise company that operates vacation experiences through a portfolio of cruise brands. Its principal brands include Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises, each serving different segments of the leisure travel market, from family-oriented cruises and large-scale resort-style ships to premium and luxury expedition voyages.

The company offers cruises to destinations around the world, including the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and other international regions.