Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL) Gets Price Target Raise and Strong Buy Rating

Argus Research's John Staszak raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL) by 6.8% from $161 to $172 on 2024/05/29. The analyst maintained their Strong Buy rating on the stock.

After reviewing Royal Caribbean Cruises' Q1 2024 earnings report released on 2024/05/29, Staszak said the company's 107% cruise occupancy rate indicates a rebound in demand and should lead to better-than-expected profits and revenue. In addition, the analyst expressed optimism about the company because they expect stronger margins and new ship launches within the next year.

For Q1 2024, Royal Caribbean Cruises reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.77, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.33 and Q1 2023's $(0.23). The company's revenue for Q1 2024 was $3.7 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.6 billion and Q1 2023's revenue of $2.9 billion by 27.6%.

Looking ahead, Royal Caribbean Cruises' management provided guidance for Q2 2024, expecting EPS in the range of $2.65 to $2.75. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate is $2.38. For the full fiscal year 2024, the company projects EPS of $10.70 to $10.90, up from the previous guidance of $9.50 to $9.70. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate is $10.06.

In response to the positive earnings report and guidance, President & CEO Jason Liberty commented, "Demand for our leading brands and the experiences they deliver continues to be very robust, resulting in outperformance in Q1, a further increase of full-year earnings guidance, and 60% expected earnings growth year-over-year. Building on this momentum, we expect to achieve all our Trifecta financial goals in 2024, which allows us to focus on a new era of growth to drive long-term shareholder returns and take a greater share of the rapidly growing $1.9 trillion global vacation market."

Truist Securities analyst Patrick Scholes also issued an update on Royal Caribbean Cruises on 2024/05/29. Scholes raised the price target by 15.9% from $151 to $175 and maintained their Strong Buy rating on the stock.

The analyst ratings for Royal Caribbean Cruises are overwhelmingly positive, with 100% of top-rated analysts rating RCL as a Strong Buy or Buy. No analysts see it as a Hold, and none recommend selling the stock.

Year-over-year, RCL stock has performed strongly, with an 84.4% increase. During the same period, the S&P 500 has risen by 25.2%.

Argus Research analyst John Staszak is ranked in the top 17% of Wall Street analysts by WallStreetZen, out of 4,593 analysts. Staszak specializes in the Technology and Communication Services sectors, among others, and has an average return of 3.5% with a 49.3% win rate.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is the owner and operator of the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises lines. The company operates 61 ships and was founded in 1968, with its headquarters in Miami, FL.

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