Investors Purchase Large Volume of Royal Caribbean Cruises Call Options (NYSE:RCL)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 24,022 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 164% compared to the typical daily volume of 9,093 call options.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 12.7 %

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded up $29.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $266.79. The company had a trading volume of 4,284,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,243,666. The stock has a market cap of $71.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1 year low of $113.10 and a 1 year high of $267.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $237.87 and a 200 day moving average of $199.52.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 52.92%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 11.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on RCL. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 price target (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total value of $763,922.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,243,287.76. This represents a 12.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 139,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.89, for a total transaction of $33,150,685.17. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,167,507 shares in the company, valued at $4,321,868,240.23. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 404,332 shares of company stock valued at $94,299,521 over the last 90 days. 7.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% during the third quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.