Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) had its price target raised by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $318.00 to $327.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Truist Financial’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 17.31% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, December 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Mizuho set a $379.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research 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.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of RCL stock opened at $278.74 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $300.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $295.45. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12-month low of $164.01 and a 12-month high of $366.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market cap of $75.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.87.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The company’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total transaction of $29,710,297.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. This represents a 29.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total value of $113,355,118.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935. 6.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth $1,021,893,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 36,165,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,088,156,000 after buying an additional 3,215,382 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 25,747.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,202,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,307,000 after buying an additional 1,197,510 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,176,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,627,669,000 after buying an additional 920,042 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 135.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,306,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,925,000 after buying an additional 750,723 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.