Allstate Corp Acquires New Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,669,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at $4,779,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 6,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.8% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 101,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,049,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 14.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 15.6% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on RCL. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $282.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last quarter. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 4.6 %

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $207.35 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $238.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $125.06 and a 52 week high of $277.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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. Research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase 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 1.45%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

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.

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.