Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 21.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,325 shares during the quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $7,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth $31,000. GGM Financials LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 318.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on RCL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, December 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total value of $76,475,593.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,435,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,120,443,401.40. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total value of $2,562,053.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,695,121.06. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. Insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

More Royal Caribbean Cruises News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company expansion push — coverage highlights Royal Caribbean’s aggressive growth and fleet/itinerary expansion plans that back continued demand recovery and revenue upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Luxury brand development — Silversea unveiled public spaces for The Cormorant at 55 South, a new hotel supporting Antarctic fly‑cruise packages, strengthening the company’s premium/expedition revenue mix. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Completed $2.5B senior notes offering — RCL issued $1.25B of 4.75% notes due 2033 and $1.25B of 5.25% notes due 2038. The deal boosts liquidity and funds financing needs but increases long‑term debt and interest expense. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling — Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 771,607 shares across Feb 25–27 for roughly $243.6M in proceeds (three Form 4 filings). While the sales are a small percentage of his total holdings, the magnitude and timing can pressure sentiment and share price. Read More.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of RCL stock opened at $310.49 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50. The company has a market cap of $84.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91. 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 50 day simple moving average of $304.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.36.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.