Zacks Research Has Pessimistic Outlook of RCL Q4 Earnings

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q4 2025 EPS estimates for Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note issued to investors on Monday, January 27th. Zacks Research analyst M. Kaushik now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $2.96 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.97. The consensus estimate for Royal Caribbean Cruises’ current full-year earnings is $11.66 per share.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $189.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 price target (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.31.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL stock opened at $264.71 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 52-week low of $113.10 and a 52-week high of $269.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The stock has a market cap of $71.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 2.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $237.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $199.52.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 52.92%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.61%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 139,353 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.89, for a total transaction of $33,150,685.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,167,507 shares in the company, valued at $4,321,868,240.23. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total value of $763,922.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 372,609 shares of company stock valued at $87,647,208 in the last 90 days. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 5,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth about $282,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 804.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,968,000 after buying an additional 26,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after buying an additional 569 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 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.