Zacks Research Brokers Boost Earnings Estimates for RCL

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note issued on Tuesday, February 11th. Zacks Research analyst M. Kaushik now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $2.43 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.16. The consensus estimate for Royal Caribbean Cruises’ current full-year earnings is $14.96 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Q1 2026 earnings at $3.56 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $4.23 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $5.09 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.58 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $16.46 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $19.25 EPS.

RCL has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 target price (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $256.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $243.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.65. The company has a market capitalization of $68.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12-month low of $113.10 and a 12-month high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 20.58%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total value of $53,732,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,556,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,335,253,633.20. This represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total value of $763,922.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,243,287.76. The trade was a 12.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 372,609 shares of company stock worth $87,647,208. 7.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

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.