Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Posted by Brenda Bartman on May 22nd, 2026

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL – Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Q2 2026 earnings at $3.87 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $6.33 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $6.29 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.37 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.40 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $17.20 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $17.13 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $3.68 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $3.70 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $5.59 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $5.46 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $4.21 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $18.96 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $5.14 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $21.87 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on RCL. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $351.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $318.00 to $327.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. TD Cowen cut their price target 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, UBS Group reduced 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 research report on Thursday, May 14th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $347.21.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Royal Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $260.69 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12-month low of $232.10 and a 12-month high of $366.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $270.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $281.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL – Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $4.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 45.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. 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. Research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 17.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,311,186,488.54. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,135,858 shares of company stock valued at $358,605,301 over the last three months. 6.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RCL. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 1,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EWA LLC increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.6% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 794 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

(Get Free Report)

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.