Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Royal Caribbean Cruises Put Options (NYSE:RCL)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 22,136 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 91% compared to the average daily volume of 11,618 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 49.3% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 117,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,931,000 after buying an additional 38,698 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth $48,063,000. Dougherty & Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $10,827,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 877,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,797,000 after acquiring an additional 201,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth $2,424,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE RCL traded down $2.88 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $279.38. 689,290 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,650,033. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.76. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12-month low of $232.10 and a 12-month high of $366.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $283.67 and a 200-day moving average of $289.16.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $4.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 45.25%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.830-3.930 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.100-17.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 17.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RCL. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $348.00 to $362.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $351.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $309.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 14th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $350.00 to $337.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $304.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.80.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.