Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $23.57, but opened at $22.28. Carnival Co. & shares last traded at $22.18, with a volume of 10,278,050 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on CCL. Hsbc Global Res raised Carnival Co. & from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Carnival Co. & in a report on Friday, April 25th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Carnival Co. & from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Macquarie decreased their target price on Carnival Co. & from $31.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Carnival Co. & in a report on Monday, March 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Carnival Co. & has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.58.

Carnival Co. & Stock Down 5.0%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $20.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 21st. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.11. Carnival Co. & had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 24.13%. The business had revenue of $5.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.14) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Carnival Co. & plc will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Carnival Co. &

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Carnival Co. & in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Carnival Co. & in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in Carnival Co. & in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Carnival Co. & during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in Carnival Co. & during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company's stock.

Carnival Co. & Company Profile

Carnival Corp. engages in the operation of cruise ships. It operates through the following business segments: North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise, Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Others. The North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise segment includes the Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn.