Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Carnival Corporation has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, based on evaluations from twenty-six ratings firms, with a majority issuing buy or hold ratings.
• The company's most recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.43, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $8.15 billion, reflecting a 3.3% year-over-year increase.
• Insider trading activity included the sale of 12,500 shares by Director Sir Jonathon Band, representing a 16.25% decrease in his ownership of the stock.

Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.9048.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Carnival from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Carnival from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Carnival from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Truist Financial increased their price target on Carnival from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Argus lowered their price target on Carnival from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carnival news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.75, for a total transaction of $371,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 64,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,916,078.50. This trade represents a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carnival

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Carnival by 375.7% during the second quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 72,140 shares of the company's stock worth $2,029,000 after buying an additional 56,976 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Carnival by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 122,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,427,000 after acquiring an additional 28,890 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Carnival by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 183,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,399,000 after acquiring an additional 10,739 shares during the period. Mount Lucas Management LP boosted its holdings in Carnival by 42.5% during the 1st quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP now owns 65,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,284,000 after acquiring an additional 19,601 shares during the period. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Carnival during the 1st quarter valued at about $196,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company's stock.

Carnival Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:CCL opened at $28.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $30.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.69. The stock has a market cap of $33.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 2.68. Carnival has a 52-week low of $15.07 and a 52-week high of $32.80.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 29th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. Carnival had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Carnival's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Carnival has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.230-0.230 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 2.140-2.140 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Carnival will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

About Carnival

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.