Royal Caribbean Cruises’ (RCL) Buy Rating Reiterated at Citigroup

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by Citigroup in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $127.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 21.74% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on RCL. StockNews.com started coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $127.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 15th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $102.00 to $139.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 15th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $127.00 to $120.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.14.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded down $1.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $104.32. The company had a trading volume of 896,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,486,895. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1-year low of $47.91 and a 1-year high of $112.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.83. The stock has a market cap of $26.73 billion, a PE ratio of 32.65 and a beta of 2.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.17.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $3.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 34.59%. The business’s revenue was up 39.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 3,502 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Monday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $301,172.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,911,436. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Michael W. Bayley sold 7,800 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Friday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $819,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 94,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,911,055. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 3,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $301,172.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,226 shares in the company, valued at $1,911,436. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,302 shares of company stock valued at $3,094,672 in the last 90 days. 8.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RCL. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $968,000 after buying an additional 2,068 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 30,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,861 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 35,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,000,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. Aviva PLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 65.5% during the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 54,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,532,000 after purchasing an additional 21,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter worth approximately $300,000. 75.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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 13, 2023, it operated 64 ships. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.