Yahoo Finance Institutional investors have a lot riding on Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) with 82% ownership
Key Insights
Institutions' substantial holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
The top 5 shareholders own 51% of the company
Every investor in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 82% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
And last week, institutional investors ended up benefitting the most after the company hit US$38b in market cap. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 91%.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Royal Caribbean Cruises.
View our latest analysis for Royal Caribbean Cruises
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Royal Caribbean Cruises?
Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.
Royal Caribbean Cruises already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Royal Caribbean Cruises, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Royal Caribbean Cruises. The company's largest shareholder is Capital Research and Management Company, with ownership of 25%. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 9.9% and 6.4% of the stock.
To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 5 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.
Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Royal Caribbean Cruises
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. It is a very large company, so it would be surprising to see insiders own a large proportion of the company. Though their holding amounts to less than 1%, we can see that board members collectively own US$214m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
With a 12% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Royal Caribbean Cruises. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.
Private Company Ownership
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 5.5%, of the company's shares. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Royal Caribbean Cruises (of which 1 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about.
But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
