Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $345.6316.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on RCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $376.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Mizuho set a $380.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $309.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 29th.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 1,135,858 shares of company stock worth $358,605,301 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Compass Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% in the first quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,696,000 after buying an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter valued at about $223,000. Cadia Private Client LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter valued at about $275,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter valued at about $152,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,120,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,370,000 after buying an additional 76,372 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Caribbean reported a strong Q1 2026 with $4.50 billion in revenue, 11% year-over-year growth, and GAAP EPS of $3.48, topping guidance. The company also said demand remains resilient and that WAVE season bookings hit a record, which supports the bullish case for future cruise pricing and occupancy. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: The company reiterated roughly 10% revenue growth and higher net yields, but also pointed to geopolitical and environmental headwinds, suggesting execution remains solid while risks stay elevated. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Truist Financial lowered its price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) from $318 to $297 and kept a hold rating, signaling less upside than before despite still being above the current share price. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded RCL from hold to strong sell, and separately cut estimates for Q3 2026, Q4 2026, FY2026, and Q1 2027 earnings, adding to near-term pressure on the stock. Article
• Negative Sentiment: News that Mexico rejected Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day water park project adds another regulatory setback, which could weigh on expansion plans and investor confidence. Article

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $257.38 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a fifty-two week low of $232.10 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50. The company has a market capitalization of $69.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $281.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.20.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.40. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 45.25%. The business had revenue of $4.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.830-3.930 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.100-17.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 17.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

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.