Royal Caribbean Cruises Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:RCL)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 14,668 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 90% compared to the typical daily volume of 7,708 put options.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael Bayley sold 12,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 45,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,313,399.03. This trade represents a 22.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RCL. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,549,422,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 23.9% in the 4th 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 during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $669,804,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,957,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $538,393,000 after acquiring an additional 38,748 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.0%

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded down $2.73 during trading on Thursday, hitting $279.59. The company had a trading volume of 627,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,576,365. The stock has a market cap of $74.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1-year low of $222.22 and a 1-year high of $356.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $279.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $281.47.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.23. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 43.33% and a net margin of 23.54%.The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 17.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 37.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RCL. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $345.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $297.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Freedom Capital downgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Monday, September 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.45.

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.