Jim Cramer Says You Can ‘Still’ Buy Royal Caribbean (RCL) as Bookings are ‘Explosive’
We recently published a list of Jim Cramer Latest Lightning Round: Top 10 Stocks to Watch. Since Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) ranks 7th on the list, it deserves a deeper look.
Jim Cramer in a latest program on CNBC talked about the latest rebound in the market.
“Never get tired of all-time highs. We are experiencing a time for the market which is what I said would happen when the Fed starts cutting rates when the economy is still solid.”
Cramer said that the key reason the market roared to highs was strong earnings from top banks. He said since the Fed’s interest rate cuts have just started, investors believe maybe the “best is yet to come.”
Jim Cramer wondered whether this strong performance trend would be a “pattern” in this earnings season.
“We will find out soon enough. We will see if the positive action will be sustained.”
Cramer recommended investors to “listen to the calls” this earning season and “ponder a moment, and only then should you pull the trigger.”
“We are at the beginning of one of the year’s four reporting periods. Probably the most exciting. I can’t believe I still get fired up, but man, am I ever.”
For this article, we watched the latest episodes of Jim Cramer’s ‘Lightning Round’ segment on CNBC and picked 10 stocks he was talking about. With each company, we have mentioned its hedge fund sentiment. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 48
Talking about Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in a latest program on CNBC, Jim Cramer said:
“Royal Caribbean. Cruises are a tremendous bargain whereas hotels and other forms of entertainment have gotten to be too expensive. Bookings are explosive. You can still buy the stock.”
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE:RCL) is benefitting from strong demand from younger customers as people around the world continue to spend on experiences despite inflation. Secular growth trends are expected to keep boosting the company. The global cruise passenger numbers hit 31.7 million last year, a 7% increase over pre-pandemic levels. Projections suggest this figure could approach 40 million by 2027, highlighting the robust demand for cruise vacations.
Amid the after-effects of the pandemic, cruise companies have been reluctant when it comes to expansion of capacity and new orders. This resulted in a shortage of ships, which gives giants like Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE:RCL) a space to raise prices. Royal Caribbean saw its net yield—revenue per passenger per cruise day—rise 13% in Q2 2024 year-over-year.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) raised its full-year EPS guidance to $11.25-$11.45 per share, reflecting 68% year-over-year growth, surpassing the consensus of $11.07 per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE:RCL) reinstated its quarterly dividend at $0.40 per share, the first since its suspension in 2020.
Ariel Fund stated the following regarding Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Global cruise vacation company, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL), advanced on another quarterly earnings beat and subsequent raise in full-year guidance. Stronger than anticipated consumer demand, healthy onboard spend, robust pricing and solid cost containment lifted recent results. Additionally, RCL is benefitting from several new megaships, more island destinations and re-entry into the China market. The resiliency of the core cruise consumer, in combination with management’s superior operational expertise and revised earnings outlook, lays the foundation for RCL to exceed its three-year strategic imperative, the Trifecta Program, a year earlier than expected.”
Overall, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) ranks 7th on Insider Monkey’s list titled Jim Cramer Latest Lightning Round: Top 10 Stocks to Watch. While we acknowledge the potential of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL), our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than RCL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.