Key Points
- Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of RCL on Feb. 17 at an average price of $327.18 for $453,144, reducing her stake by about 9.73% to 12,849 shares (≈$4.20M).
- Other insiders executed much larger disposals — notably Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 180,000 shares (~$58.5M) on Feb. 17 and 100,000 shares (~$32.7M) on Feb. 13 — a pattern that can increase short‑term downward pressure on the stock.
- Corporate actions include a raised quarterly dividend to $1.50 (annualized $6.00, ~1.9% yield) and a newly authorized $2.0 billion share buyback (up to ~2.6% of shares), signaling management is returning capital and may view the shares as undervalued.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total transaction of $453,144.30. Following the sale, the director owned 12,849 shares in the company, valued at $4,203,935.82. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.4%
Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $319.11 on Thursday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business's 50 day moving average is $300.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.91.
Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.62%.
Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
More Royal Caribbean Cruises News
Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Board upgrade: Royal Caribbean appointed Christopher J. Wiernicki (former Chairman & CEO of American Bureau of Shipping) to its board, which adds industry regulatory and maritime expertise that could benefit long‑term operations and safety/governance oversight. Press Release
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/media attention: Forbes published a take weighing RCL as potentially undervalued given growth, cash flow and margins, while Zacks highlighted increased investor attention and momentum scores — coverage that can attract buyers but is not a near‑term catalyst by itself. Forbes Article Zacks Article
- Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling — Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 180,000 shares on Feb. 17 (~$58.5M) and 100,000 shares on Feb. 13 (~$32.7M). Massive sales by a director can put downward pressure on the stock and raise short‑term concern about insider conviction. Wilhelmsen SEC Filing
- Negative Sentiment: Additional insider disposals — Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares (~$2.56M) and director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares (~$453k) on Feb. 17. Multiple insider sales in the same window amplify selling signal to the market. Bethge SEC Filing Gomez Montiel SEC Filing
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Susquehanna set a $350.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.29.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Royal Caribbean Cruises
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,936 shares of the company's stock worth $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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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