Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts assign Carnival an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from 26 analysts (21 buys, 4 holds, 1 sell) with an average 1‑year price target of $33.99.
• Carnival beat expectations for the quarter (EPS $0.20 vs $0.18 consensus; revenue $6.17B vs $6.13B) while broker targets have recently ranged from $30 to $39 amid mixed analyst revisions.
• Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares at about $26.19 (an 18.6% cut to his stake); insiders own 7.9% of the stock while institutional investors hold 67.2%.

Shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and twenty-one have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.9909.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Carnival from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on Carnival from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Carnival from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Carnival from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Carnival from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th.

Insider Transactions at Carnival

In other Carnival news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares of Carnival stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $313,965.72. Following the sale, the director owned 52,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,377,620.19. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Carnival

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCL. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Carnival during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,291,000. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Carnival by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,795,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,820,000 after purchasing an additional 272,452 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Carnival by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,774,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,867,000 after purchasing an additional 93,565 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Carnival during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,422,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Carnival by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 207,520 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,999,000 after acquiring an additional 46,828 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.19% of the company's stock.

Carnival Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE CCL opened at $26.76 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $27.39 and its 200 day moving average is $28.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. Carnival has a 12 month low of $17.33 and a 12 month high of $34.03. The stock has a market cap of $33.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.48.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 27th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.02. Carnival had a return on equity of 26.92% and a net margin of 11.48%.The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Carnival will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Carnival

Carnival Corporation NYSE: CCL is a global cruise operator that provides leisure travel services through a portfolio of passenger cruise brands. The company's core business is operating cruise ships that offer multi-night voyages and associated vacation services, including onboard accommodations, dining, entertainment, spa and wellness offerings, casinos, youth programs, and organized shore excursions. Carnival markets cruise vacations to a broad range of consumers, from value-focused travelers to premium and luxury segments, through differentiated brand positioning and onboard experiences.

Its operating structure comprises multiple well-known cruise brands that target distinct geographic and demographic markets.

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