Little House Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Little House Capital LLC grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,379 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the quarter. Little House Capital LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 1.1 %

RCL opened at $262.99 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $113.10 and a 52 week high of $277.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $243.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.77. The firm has a market cap of $70.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 20.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,556,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,335,253,633.20. This trade represents a 1.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,243,287.76. This trade represents a 12.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 392,109 shares of company stock valued at $92,652,468 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.12.

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.