Investors Buy High Volume of Royal Caribbean Cruises Call Options (NYSE:RCL)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 41,401 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 387% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,501 call options.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded down $1.84 during trading on Thursday, reaching $238.46. 420,327 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,319,946. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1 year low of $113.10 and a 1 year high of $258.70. The firm has a market cap of $64.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 2.60. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $229.48 and its 200 day moving average is $186.93.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 52.92% and a net margin of 16.21%. The firm had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 11.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 22.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total value of $5,250,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 204,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,953,500.42. This represents a 10.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 139,353 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.89, for a total transaction of $33,150,685.17. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,167,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,321,868,240.23. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 404,332 shares of company stock worth $94,299,521 in the last three months. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 257.4% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on RCL shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $180.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $257.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Macquarie boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $189.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.75.

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.