Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Shares Sold by Renaissance Group LLC

Renaissance Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 111,040 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,648 shares during the period. Royal Caribbean Cruises makes up 1.4% of Renaissance Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Renaissance Group LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $35,930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RCL. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 39,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,453,000 after purchasing an additional 4,558 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.1% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 433,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,595,000 after buying an additional 43,184 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,806,000. Marion Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $291,000. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 137,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,802,000 after acquiring an additional 8,121 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $347.86 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $164.01 and a 12-month high of $366.50. The firm has a market cap of $94.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $289.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.29.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.