Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) CEO Jason Liberty Sells 90,910 Shares

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) CEO Jason Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total transaction of $29,710,297.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at $71,513,217.82. This trade represents a 29.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded down $13.54 on Friday, hitting $319.26. 2,393,028 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,499,937. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $296.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $303.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.91. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $164.01 and a one year high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The company had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on RCL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho set a $379.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $318.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.29.

Key Royal Caribbean Cruises News

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 2025 results showed solid demand and margin recovery — revenue and EPS rose ~13% and ~36% year‑over‑year, operating profit jumped ~49%, and operating cash generation improved. These fundamentals support analyst bullishness and longer‑term earnings upgrades. RCL Q4 2025 Earnings (QuiverQuant)
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains constructive: broker consensus is around a “Moderate Buy” and many firms maintain buy/overweight ratings with price targets well above current levels — a tailwind for the stock if sentiment persists. Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy (AmericanBankingNews)
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research nudged near‑term EPS estimates slightly higher for Q1 and Q2, signaling some upward revision to the company’s short‑term earnings outlook. (These are modest changes but supportive.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks also published longer‑range projections (FY2027/FY2028) that are mixed — a small cut to FY2027 was offset by higher FY2028 expectations — leaving medium‑term consensus roughly intact.
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Caribbean priced $2.5 billion of senior unsecured notes ($1.25B due 2033 at 4.75% and $1.25B due 2038 at 5.25%). The deal increases debt and fixed interest obligations, which can pressure the stock, especially given already elevated capex and leverage metrics. Pricing of Senior Unsecured Notes (PR Newswire) Royal Caribbean Issues $2.5 Billion in Senior Notes (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: High near‑term capital spending: management’s reported capex jumped materially in Q4, and Quiver data shows insider sales in recent months — both factors can worry investors about future free cash flow and signal reduced insider conviction. Capex & Insider Activity (QuiverQuant)

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.1% in the 2nd 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 acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth approximately $4,806,000. Marion Wealth Management bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.4% in the second quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 180,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,539,000 after acquiring an additional 12,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 253.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 556,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,241,000 after purchasing an additional 398,849 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.