Morgan Stanley Increases Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Price Target to $154.00

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $154.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 2.02% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on RCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $175.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Macquarie raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $165.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $168.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Argus raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $168.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.13.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL stock traded up $0.69 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $150.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,758,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,588,592. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 52 week low of $78.35 and a 52 week high of $173.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $156.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 2.62.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 52.49% and a net margin of 16.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Naftali Holtz bought 5,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $140.00 per share, with a total value of $749,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,256 shares in the company, valued at $6,755,840. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CFO Naftali Holtz purchased 5,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $140.00 per share, for a total transaction of $749,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 48,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,755,840. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael W. Bayley sold 24,201 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.21, for a total value of $3,393,222.21. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,859,758.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 92,940 shares of company stock valued at $13,667,094 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,596,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,114,203,000 after buying an additional 286,868 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,409,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,532,143,000 after buying an additional 132,079 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $323,251,000. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 760,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,534,000 after acquiring an additional 20,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 639,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,789,000 after acquiring an additional 85,545 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

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.