Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 14,419 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 114.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,974 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,419 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $8,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at $2,916,000. Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth about $707,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter valued at about $215,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 366.0% during the second quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 904 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on RCL. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $367.00 to $357.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $324.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,100 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.76, for a total value of $309,936.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,010,571.84. This trade represents a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $287.06 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $276.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $304.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.14. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $5.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.68 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.16 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 44.68% and a net margin of 23.33%.Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.20 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.580-15.630 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.740-2.790 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 26.90%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.