Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Raises Dividend to $0.75 Per Share

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of 0.75 per share on Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55.

Royal Caribbean Cruises has a dividend payout ratio of 12.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Royal Caribbean Cruises to earn $17.42 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.6%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE RCL opened at $256.11 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 52 week low of $113.10 and a 52 week high of $277.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $243.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.65.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RCL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total value of $763,922.72. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total transaction of $53,732,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,556,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,335,253,633.20. This trade represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 372,609 shares of company stock worth $87,647,208 in the last three months. 7.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.