Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $348.2857.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on RCL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price 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. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised 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.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $332.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $90.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.91. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12 month low of $164.01 and a 12 month high of $366.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $295.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $303.60.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 25.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its position 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 worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% in the second quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.