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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders bought 17,418 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 139% compared to the average daily volume of 7,295 call options.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 5.5%

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded up $18.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $344.13. 734,984 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,462,653. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $287.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.87. The firm has a market cap of $93.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.91. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 52-week low of $164.01 and a 52-week high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The company’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 25.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on RCL. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho set a $379.00 price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $347.81.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 39,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,453,000 after acquiring an additional 4,558 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.1% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 433,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,595,000 after buying an additional 43,184 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,806,000. Marion Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at $291,000. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 137,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,802,000 after purchasing an additional 8,121 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL), operating as part of the Royal Caribbean Group, is a global cruise company that develops, markets and operates passenger cruise ships. The company operates multiple consumer-facing cruise brands that offer short- and long-duration itineraries and a range of onboard experiences. Its core activities include itineraries and voyage operations, guest services and hospitality, onboard food and beverage, entertainment and recreation programming, and the commercial activities needed to sell and support cruises through both direct and travel‑agent channels.

Royal Caribbean’s ships serve a broad set of geographies worldwide, regularly deploying vessels in the Caribbean, North America (including Alaska), Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.