Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,100,000 shares, a drop of 28.3% from the August 15th total of 15,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days. Currently, 4.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL traded up $1.85 during trading on Monday, hitting $169.81. 1,383,932 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,498,441. The company has a market cap of $43.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 2.61. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.94. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1 year low of $78.35 and a 1 year high of $173.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.45. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 16.32% and a return on equity of 52.49%. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 11.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 20th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $151.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $145.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $165.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.31.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, CFO Naftali Holtz purchased 5,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $140.00 per share, with a total value of $749,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 48,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,755,840. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 5,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $919,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,837 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,164.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz purchased 5,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, valued at $6,755,840. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 102,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,197,000 after purchasing an additional 27,819 shares during the period. Keystone Financial Group acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at about $209,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 166,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,577,000 after buying an additional 17,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 17.2% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,156,000 after buying an additional 5,655 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.